Winter Pond
Ai Qing

Winter pond,
Lonely, like an old man's heart—
A heart that has known too much the bitterness in the world,
Winter pond,
Dried up, like an old man's eyes—
Eyes with their luster rubbed dim by toil.
Winter pond,
Wasted, like an old man's hair—
Hair of ashen color, as sparse as winter grass.
Winter pond,
Somber, like a grieved old man—
An old man bent over beneath the gloom of the sky.

January 11, 1940