Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OLD AND NEW, by ANONYMOUS


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OLD AND NEW, by                    
First Line: She went up the mountain to pluck wild herbs
Last Line: I see that the new will not compare with the old
Subject(s): China - Early Period (to 200 B.c.);marriage; Weddings;husbands;wives


SHE went up the mountain to pluck wild herbs;
She came down the mountain and met her former husband.
She knelt down and asked her former husband
"What do you find your new wife like?"
"My new wife, although her talk is clever,
Cannot charm me as my old wife could.
In beauty of face there is not much to choose,
But in usefulness they are not at all alike.
My new wife comes in from the road to meet me;
My old wife always came down from her tower.
My new wife is clever at embroidering silk;
My old wife was good at plain sewing.
Of silk embroidery one can do an inch a day;
Of plain sewing, more than five feet.
Putting her silks by the side of your sewing,
I see that the new will not compare with the old."





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