Layered clouds loom dull and deep,
Silent rains in threads hang steep.
Floods drown ancient pathways bare,
Days of deluge swamp the lair.
When will crops be ripe to glean?
Few chimneys smoke in hamlets lean.
Torrents burst through gardens wide,
Rotting leaves on boughs abide.
Damp new firewood fuels dusk's fare,
Dawn's fishers shift their old haunt's lair.
Last year's chrysanthemums remain -
Lonely blooms by eastern fence plain.
漠漠重云暗，萧萧密雨垂。
为霖淹古道，积日满荒陂。
五稼何时获，孤村几户炊。
乱流发通圃，腐叶著秋枝。
暮爨新樵湿，晨渔旧浦移。
空馀去年菊，花发在东篱。
Likely composed during Geng Wei's retirement to rural life or travels, this poem captures the agricultural hardships caused by prolonged autumn rains. Tang poets often used pastoral themes to express their sentiments, and Geng Wei, as one of the "Ten Literary Masters of the Dali Era," excelled in quiet yet profound depictions of nature. Here, through the lens of relentless rains over village fields, he reflects on farming struggles and rural decline, blending scene, event, and emotion to reveal how Tang pastoral poetry extended its gaze toward real-world concerns.
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