He ambles along like a walking pin cushion,
Stops and curls up lie a chestnut burr.
He's not worried because he's so little.
Nobody is going to slap him around.

Translated from the Chinese by Kenneth Rexroth

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"Hedgehog" by Chu Chen Po (ninth century), translated by Kenneth Rexroth, from 100 More Poems from the Chinese.
Copyright © 1970 by Kenneth Rexroth. Reprinted with the permission of New Directions Publishing Corporation.