Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE POEMS OF COLD MOUNTAIN: 233 by HAN SHAN

First Line: OUR LIVES ARE CIRCUMSCRIBED BY DUST
Last Line: SUDDENLY WE'RE OLD MEN
Subject(s): AGING; CHINESE LITERATURE; LIFE; MORTALITY;

Our lives are circumscribed by dust
we're like bugs inside a bowl
going in circles all day long
never leaving our bowl
eternal life is beyond our reach
afflictions never end
the months and years flow by
suddenly we're old men



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