A Raven
Hu Shi

I wake early,
Croak high up on the roof top.
No one’s glad to hear me,
All call me
An evil omen,
But only because I can’t flatter their ears
With twittering and soft songs.

It’s cold, it’s windy,
There’s nothing to cling to.
All day long I fly this way and that,
Cold, hungry.
But how could I slave for my master
Like some bootlicking pigeon?
No one can tie me
To a bamboo stick end
Just for an easy handout of grain!