Thinking of My Brothers on a Moonlit Night
Du Fu

Garrison drum cut person action
Autumn border one goose sound
Dew from today night white
Moon is homeland bright
Have brother all disperse
No home ask die life
Send letter all not reach
Condition be not stop fighting
The army drum cuts off people's actions,
A lone goose sounds on the borderland in autumn.
Tonight we start the season of white dew,
The moon is just as bright as in my homeland.
My brothers are spread all throughout the land,
No home to ask if they are living or dead.
The letters we send always go astray,
Still the fighting does not cease.

View Chinese text in traditional characters.

Other Chinese poems about Separation, Autumn and War.

Note: The goose is a symbol of autumn and letters from afar.