Thinking of My Brothers on Mountain Climbing Day
Alone, a lonely stranger in a foreign ________,
I doubly pine for kinsfolk on a holiday.
I know my brothers would, with dogwood (茱萸) spray in hand,
Climb the mountain and think of me so far away.
(Translated by Xu Yuanchong)
Wang Wei (701-761) was a Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet. He wrote about 400 poems. His most famous poems are about natural scenery and country life. But this poem is about the poet's own feelings. He was only 17 when he wrote it. The language in the poem is simple, but the feeling is strong. While he misses his relatives, he hopes they are missing him as well.