小池
quán yǎn泉眼wú shēng无声xī惜xì细liú流，
shù yīn树阴zhào照shuǐ水ài爱qíng晴róu柔。
xiǎo小hé荷cái才lù露jiān jiān尖尖jiǎo角，
zǎo早yǒu有qīng tíng蜻蜓lì立shàng tóu上头。
Line by line
- 泉眼无声惜细流， 泉眼無聲惜細流， The spring’s eye, silent, spares its thin trickle;
- 树阴照水爱晴柔。 樹陰照水愛晴柔。 tree shade on the water loves the soft clear light.
- 小荷才露尖尖角， A young lotus has just shown its sharp little tip,
- 早有蜻蜓立上头。 早有蜻蜓立上頭。 and already a dragonfly stands on top.
The poet & the story
Yang Wanli (1127–1206) wrote over four thousand surviving poems in a deliberately fresh, plain style he called the “Chengzhai style” — finding wonder in small everyday scenes that grander poets walked past. He was also a principled official who repeatedly resigned rather than compromise.
Interpretation
A spring’s eye lets its trickle flow in silence; tree shade loves the soft brightness of the pool. A baby lotus has just shown its sharp tip above the water — and already a dragonfly stands on it. The last couplet, 小荷才露尖尖角, is now used for any budding talent: the moment promise first becomes visible, something always arrives to greet it.