Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


BLAMING SONS (AN APOLOGY FOR HIS OWN DRUNKENNESS) by T'AO CH'IEN

First Line: WHITE HAIR COVERS MY TEMPLES
Last Line: WHAT CAN I DO BUT FILL MY CUP?
Subject(s): ALCOHOLISM & ALCOHOLICS; CHINA - EARLY PERIOD (TO 200 B.C.); CHINA - MIDDLE AGES (600 B.C.- 618 A.D.); SONS;

WHITE hair covers my temples,
I am wrinkled and seared beyond repair,
And though I have got five sons,
They all hate paper and brush.
A-shu is eighteen:
For laziness there is none like him.
A-hsuan does his best,
But really loathes the Fine Arts.
Yung-tuan is thirteen,
But does not know "six" from "seven."
T'ung-tzu in his ninth year
Is only concerned with things to eat.
If Heaven treats me like this,
What can I do but fill my cup?



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