The Poem on the Wall

More Translations from the Chinese, by Arthur Waley, [1919], at sacred-texts.com

p. 46

[20] THE POEM ON THE WALL

(A.D. 810)

(Yüan Chēn wrote that on his way to exile he had discovered a poem inscribed by Po Chü-i, on the wall of the Lo-k‘ou Inn.)

My clumsy poem on the inn-wall none cared to see.
With bird-droppings and moss's growth the letters were blotched away.
There came a guest with heart so full, that though a page to the Throne,
He did not grudge with his broidered coat to wipe off the dust, and read.