The Departure of a Homeless Man
By Chinese Poet Du Fu 712-770
Narration By Bill Wolak
Translated from Chinese by Hong Ai Bai and John Digby
After the end of the Anshi Rebellion,
the countryside became wasted and bleak
My hometown was left with nothing
to eat but mugwort and pigweed
More than a hundred families
used to live in this village
But during the turbulent years
people scattered and fled elsewhere
Even if they were still alive
there was never any news about them
They might have died
decomposed into ashes and mud
After we suffered defeat
in the battles of Ye City
I turned around and set out tramping
the old roads toward my hometown
Though I walked for a long time
I saw only deserted lanes
As the sun became thinner and weaker
the air was filled desolation and remorse
In my village I came face to face
only with foxes and raccoons
With their hair standing on end
they were wailing furiously at me
Barely anyone remained
except a few old widows
Even birds were reluctant to leave
the branches where they perched
Like them I would rather remain
in poverty than leave my hometown
When springtime arrived I took my hoe
and headed toward the field alone
From dawn until dusk
I hoed and irrigated the land
When the town’s governor
discovered that I came back
He wanted to draft me again
to fight in the war
Since the battle site was close to my town
I wouldn’t need to take anything with me
Fighting nearby as a single man
I would still be at home
If I were sent far I would feel lost
yet there was nothing left in my empty house
So it didn’t make any difference
whether I was staying local or sent away
For a long time I felt guilty about my mother
chronically tormented by diseases
She passed away five years ago
and lies buried comfortless in the valley
She gave birth to such a son
as me inept and powerless
Throughout our whole lives
we both suffered all kinds of pain
Without a place called home
what kind of life did we lead?
Can we even be called
citizens of this society?