Spring Thoughts
Grass in Yan is like green silk;
Mulberry branches in Qin hang low with leaves.
When you begin to long for home,
I am already heartsick with longing.
Spring wind, you and I are strangers—
Why have you entered my silk curtain?
Notes
Yan evokes a northern region and Qin the area around the passes. The speaker addresses an absent person, then personifies the spring wind entering a silk curtain.
Meaning
Spring scenes in two regions frame a speaker’s longing for someone away, followed by a question to the personified wind.
Appreciation
Grass in Yan and mulberries in Qin place two distant spring scenes together.
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The absent person’s longing and the speaker’s sorrow are linked without a full backstory.
Addressing the wind makes an invisible force into a conversational presence.
Spring beauty becomes a trigger for longing rather than a cure for it.
About the poet
Li Bai (c. 701–762), courtesy name Taibai, was a Tang poet whose travels inspired many poems about landscapes, friendship and journeys.
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Life: Li Bai grew up in the Shu region and traveled widely. He was summoned to serve at the Tang court before continuing his journeys.
Works: His poems include Thoughts on a Quiet Night, Viewing the Waterfall at Mount Lu and To Wang Lun.