Blessings for rain Tom Sharp

1. As the warm sun sets, I go down to the river and see fish swimming under the waves, and crows overhead reflected on the water. Everyone’s happy—small boys and old men. Deer are shy. Monkeys cry when they hear a drum. I talk with girls about picking mulberries. 2. Village girls put on red skirts and peer through the gate of a thorny fence to look at me when I come by. One girl is upset that another steps on her hem. These people offer sacrifices for the wheat harvest. Black kites gather to eat bowls of wheat. At dusk, I meet a drunk man lying on the road. 3. Hemp leaves outside the village shine with rainwater. In the village, silk cocoons being boiled fills the air. A woman spinning silk whispers over a fence. An old man leaning on a cane is drunk. His wheat is pounded into a paste for him. I ask him when the beans will ripen. 4. Jujube blossoms fall on us, one after another. Spinning wheels sing in all directions. An old man wearing a coir raincoat sells cucumbers. I’m tired; I’ve had too much to drink. I knock on a door at random to ask for tea. 5. On the road, a small rain keeps the dust down and brings out fresh blades of grass and sedge. It’s hard to quit farming when weeds won’t stop growing. The warm sun lights up mulberry and hemp; a cool breeze carries the smell of mugwort and wormwood. I was an envoy for only a while, but will always be a farmer.

浣溪沙·徐门石潭谢雨道上作五首 苏轼

一 照日深红暖见鱼，连溪绿暗晚藏乌。黄童白叟聚睢盱。 麋鹿逢人虽未惯，猿猱闻鼓不须呼。归家说与采桑姑。 二 旋抹红妆看使君，三三五五棘篱门。相挨踏破茜罗裙。 老幼扶携收麦社，乌鸢翔舞赛神村。道逢醉叟卧黄昏。 三 麻叶层层檾叶光，谁家煮茧一村香。隔篱娇语络丝娘。 垂白杖藜抬醉眼，捋青捣麨软饥肠。问言豆叶几时黄。 四 簌簌衣巾落枣花，村南村北响缫车。牛衣古柳卖黄瓜。 酒困路长惟欲睡，日高人渴漫思茶。敲门试问野人家。 五 软草平莎过雨新，轻沙走马路无尘。何时收拾耦耕身。 日暖桑麻光似泼，风来蒿艾气如薰。使君元是此中人。