Classic Poem

The life of an orphan boy;
An Orphan boy's encounter with life
Fated to be wretched and alone
When Father and Mother were alive
We rode in a strong carriage,
Drove a team of four horses
Now Father and Mother are gone,
My older brother and his wife make me trade;
South to Jiujiang,
East to Qi and Lu.
In the La month I come home,
But daren't speak of my misery.
My hair is full of nits,
My face and eyes full of dust
My big brother says, " Get the meal ready "
My big sister says, " Look after the horses "
Up I go to the high hall,
Then hurry down to the lower hall.
The orphan boy's tears fall like rain
They make me go and draw water at dawn,
At dusk I must fetch water again.
My hands have become chapped,
My feet go without straw sandals.
Aching, aching I tread on frost,
Among many prickly root crops I walk.
I pull up and break the thorns,
My calves hurt so I want to scream
Tears fall spurting, spurting,
Clear tears flooding, flooding
In winter I have no lined coat,
In summer no unlined robe.
To live unhappily
Is not as good as an early death,
Following on down to Yellow Springs.
Spring air quickens,
Grass shoots sprout.
In the third month silkworm mulberry,
In the sixth month I harvest melons
Pushing the melon cart
I come back home again.
When my melon cart overturns
A few help me,
But many devour my melons
I want people to give back the vines —
Brother and his wife are strict.
Empty-handed, I'd better hurry home
To face their reckoning.

Envoi

" In the village what shouting, shouting!
I want to send a foot-long letter
To the underworld to Father and Mother:
With Brother and his wife I can't live much longer! "