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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.)
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 we hope to share his lot?
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YEARS VANISH LIKE THE MORNING DEW by MEI SHENG
THE MAN-WIND AND THE WOMAN-WIND by SUNG YU
BLAMING SONS (AN APOLOGY FOR HIS OWN DRUNKENNESS) by T'AO CH'IEN
READING THE BOOK OF HILLS AND SEAS by T'AO CH'IEN
RETURNING TO THE FIELDS by T'AO CH'IEN
TIS A LITTLE JOURNEY by ANONYMOUS