Midnight Wu Song: Winter
Tomorrow morning the courier departs;
All night she pads a robe for the campaign.
Her pale hands grow cold drawing the needle;
How much harder to hold the scissors.
She cuts and sews to send it along the distant road:
How many days until it reaches Lintao?
Notes
A courier travels through the postal stations. Xu means padding a garment. The hands are cold even drawing a needle, making scissors harder still. Lintao evokes a distant frontier.
Meaning
Before a courier leaves, a woman works through the cold night to prepare a robe and wonders when it will reach the frontier.
Appreciation
A courier leaving in the morning gives the all-night sewing urgency.
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Needle and scissors make the cold tangible through the worker’s hands.
The closing shifts from making to sending, expressing concern through a question.
The poem leaves the arrival unanswered.
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.