The Spring River Poem by Bai Juyi

Heat and cold, dusk and dawn have crowded one upon the other. Suddenly I find it is two years since I came to Chengzhou. Through my closed doors I hear nothing but the morning and evening drum. From my upper windows all I see is the ships that come and go. In vain the Orioles tempt me with their song to stray beneath the flowering trees. In vain the grasses lure me by their color to sit beside the pond. There is one thing and one alone I never tire of watching. The spring river as it trickles over the stones and babbles past the rocks.