Over the course of the instructional activity, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763). Literary/historical context is provided, along with 14 discussion questions, and a text-to-self connection journal prompt. Guidance for collaborative groups to analyze point of view and literary devices in the text, and templates to develop a storyboard version of the text are included. Finally, each class member composes his or her own poem about a condition changed. Use the activities detailed here as part of a unit on Tang Dynasty China, types of poetry, or with any thematic unit about change.