Classic and Contemporary Poetry
SATIRE ON PAYING CALLS IN AUGUST, by CH'ENG HSIAO First Line: When I was young, throughout the hot season Last Line: That august visitors should not be admitted. Subject(s): August; Guests; Visiting | ||||||||
WHEN I was young, throughout the hot season There were no carriages driving about the roads, People shut their doors and lay down in the cool: Or if they went out, it was not to pay calls. Nowadays -- ill-bred, ignorant fellows, When they feel the heat, make for a friend's house. The unfortunate host, when he hears someone coming Scowls and frowns, but can think of no escape. "There's nothing for it but to rise and go to the door," And in his comfortable seat he groans and sighs. The conversation does not end quickly: Prattling and babbling, what a lot he says! Only when one is almost dead with fatigue He asks at last if one isn't finding him tiring. [One's arm is almost in half with continual fanning: The sweat is pouring down one's neck in streams.] Do not say that this is a small matter: I consider the practice a blot on our social life. I therefore caution all wise men That August visitors should not be admitted. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...LEDA 2: A NOTE ON VISITATIONS by LUCILLE CLIFTON HELSINKI, 1940 by ANSELM HOLLO THE LOW BLACK SQUARE by ANSELM HOLLO AMUSING OUR DAUGHTERS by CAROLYN KIZER POET AND PERSON by DENISE LEVERTOV AFTER THE GUEST; FOR MY BROTHER by GREGORY ORR EXPLICATION OF AN IMAGINARY TEXT by JAMES GALVIN |
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