Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


OLD POEM: 13 by ANONYMOUS

First Line: THE YEARS OF A LIFETIME DO NOT REACH A HUNDRED
Last Line: BUT HOW CAN WE HOPE TO SHARE HIS LOT?
Subject(s): CHINA - EARLY PERIOD (TO 200 B.C.);

THE years of a lifetime do not reach a hundred,
Yet they contain a thousand years' sorrow.
When days are short and the dull nights long,
Why not take a lamp and wander forth?
If you want to be happy you must do it now,
There is no waiting till an after-time.
The fool who's loath to spend the wealth he's got
Becomes the laughing-stock of after ages.
It is true that Master Wang became immortal,
But how can @3we@1 hope to share his lot?



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