游子吟

(yóu zǐ yín)

Traveler's Ode

孟郊【唐】

(mèng jiāo, táng)

By Meng Jiao, Tang Dynasty (AD 618907)

慈母手中線，

(cí mǔ shǒu zhōng xiàn,)

Thread in a loving mother's hand.

游子身上衣。

(yóu zǐ shēn shàng yī.)

Worked into the cloth for her ofttraveling son.

臨行密密縫，

(lín xíng mì mi féng,)

Before his departure, she sets her stitches firm and dense.

意恐遲遲歸。

(yì kǒng chí chi guī.)

Fearing her beloved son will not soon return.

誰言寸草心，

(shuí yán cùn cǎo xīn,)

Who can say that the heart of the inchlong grass,

報得三春暉。

(bào dé sān chūn huī.)

Could repay the full spring sunlight!

Summary:

By mentioning only a mother and a son, a thread and a piece of clothing, the first two verses portray the deep feelings and interdependence between the mother and her son. The middle two verses mainly express the mother's deep feeling for her son by describing what the mother did and how she worried about her son. The last lines explain the conscientious thoughts of a son who regrets being apart from his loving mother. How can a child repay a mother's great love?

— From Fun with Ancient Chinese Poems

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