Visiting the Farmhouse of an Old Friend, Meng Haoran (300 Tang Shi #128)

My old friend cooks his chicken and millet
And bids me visit at his farm.
Green trees surround the village edge,
Blue mountains wind outside the walls.
The window faces a courtyard garden—
Cups raised, we talk of silk and flax.
The day the Double Ninth arrives
I shall return for chrysanthemums.

过故人庄
故人具鸡黍，
邀我至田家。
绿树村边合，
青山郭外斜。
开轩面场圃，
把酒话桑麻。
待到重阳日，
还来就菊花。

Lost in translation: the window has an “open curtain” and faces a “threshing-floor” as well as a garden—which latter detail, having a food garden in the house’s courtyard, indicates this is a peasant farmer household. Interpretation: literally they talk about “mulberries,” which implies silk cultivation. One observance for the Double Ninth (9th day of the 9th lunar month) longevity festival included drinking chrysanthemum-infused wine, thought to prolong your life.

I’ve noticed that Meng often takes his last couplet in a totally new direction, but this time it, like, tonally comes out of nowhere.

---L.