Du Fu is an 8th Century Chinese poet, maybe the most revered of all Chinese poets. He wrote about the seasons, the impacts of exile and war, court intrigues, the allure of retreating to a mediative life. Here is a new translation by David Young of a well-known poem by Du Fu. Indeed, when I shared this English version with a Chinese neighbor, he began reciting it in the original! I take the liberty of changing a place name in the last section.

RAIN ON A SPRING NIGHT

Congratulations, rain
you know when to fall

and you know quite well
you belong to spring

coming at night, quiet
walking in the wind

making sure things
get good and wet

the clouds hang dark
over country roads

there's one light from a boat
coming downriver

in the red morning
everything's wet

flowers all through Eugene
heavy and full of rain.