I am suffering with writers block at the moment so I thought I would find some new poets to read. I came across 'The Penguin Book of Chinese Verse' which contains this delightful piece.
Kept Indoors By Rain
The East wind blows the rain along and vexes the rambler,
Filling the roads with fresh mud for their delicate dust.
The flowers sleep, the willows nod, Spring itself is idle,
Who would have thought that I would be more idle than Spring?
Lu Yu (1125 - 1210)
Translated by Robert Kotewall and Norman L. Smith
There are some real gems in this little book and well worth searching out.