David Ngo

What’s the Rush?

In a pot prepared
on burning beanstalks,
the beans cry,
“We are of the same root,
what’s the rush to fry me?

---

“This is a tanka version of the “Seven Steps Verse” (Chinese: 七步诗), a poem that is attributed to Cao Zhi. Here is a version found in Chapter 79 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, published in the 14th century.

煮豆燃豆萁，
豆在釜中泣。
本是同根生，
相煎何太急！

---

David Ngo‘s heart sinks for the suffering people in Ukraine.

---