Classic Poem

Sharing Lodging with Hsieh Shih-hou

The lamp burns blue, everyone asleep;
from their holes the hungry rats steal out:
flip-flop—a rattle of plates and saucers;
clatter-crash!—the end of my dream.
I fret—will they knock off the inkslab on the desk?
worry—are they gnawing those shelves of books?
My little son mimics a cat's miaowing,
and that's a silly solution for sure!EnglishMei Yao Ch'en [or Mei YaochenShort Poems