Lawrence Hall, HSG
On Reading a Poem by Du Mu
Everything is far away
China is ever so far away
The dynasties are far away
A golden dragon might fly us
there
The moon is across the river
The blue-black river in the
mist
A fishing boat is tied to the
gate
The water-gate of our inn
What do they mean, the moon
and boat?
Maybe the moon and the boat
mean nothing
They simply are; they are
themselves
Or perhaps we mean the moon
and boat
Because of Du Mu and his
words
The moon and the boat are
forever
The blue-black river is
forever
In reading of them so are we
“A Night at
the Inn While Travelling”
Three Hundred
Tang Poems
Translated
by Peter Harris
London:
Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets, 2009
