Written when Kim Sakkat was asked to compose something outrageous as the price of an evening’s drinking. The poem is beautifully observed. A roe lying in the shade looks like it is nursing an egg. The freshwater crab has appendages near its mouth that wag like tails. Shadows in the setting sun give the impression of a huge topknot. Some versions have “beard” for “balls” in the final line. The impression of big balls or a long beard comes from shadows cast by the woman working at the loom.
A roe broods on an egg in blue mountain shade;
a riverbank crab wags its tails under white clouds;
the monk going home in the setting sun has a topknot three feet long;
the girl weaving on the terrace has balls as big as a measure of rice.