<em>"While my hair was still cut straight across my
</em>
<em> forehead
</em>
<em>I played about the front gate, pulling flowers.
</em>
<em>You came by on bamboo stilts, playing horse,
</em>
<em>You walked about my seat, playing with blue
</em>
<em> plums.
</em>
<em>And we went on living in the village of Chokan: </em>
<em>Two small people, without dislike or suspicion."</em>
The first stanza of "The River Merchant's Wife" emphasizes youth, nature, and playing between children. The verb "play" is repeated three times, and she mentions "flowers" and "blue plums." There is harmony between the presence of "I" and "you."
<em>"While my hair was still cut straight across my
</em>
<em> forehead
</em>
The use of the word "while" and the image of her haircut as a child shows us the recollection of when they first met, before they were to marry.
<em>And we went on living in the village of Chokan: </em>
<em>Two small people, without dislike or suspicion."</em>
The "You" and "I" merge at the end of the first stanza, forming a "we"
