‘Thread in a loving mother's hand, clothes on the wanderer's body’ - every time I'm homesick I think of this line.
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From 孟郊's Tang poem 游子吟: 慈母手中线，游子身上衣。临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。 (Thread in the loving mother's hand becomes clothing on the wanderer's body; stitch by stitch before he leaves, fearing his return may be long.) A canonical poem of maternal devotion.
usage
Always quoted together with 慈母手中线. 游子 = a son away from home, still a vivid term for anyone studying or working far from their parents.
