My favorite poem

in poem •  7 years ago  (edited)

 T'ao Ch'ien (translated by Arthur Waley), in Arthur Waley, One Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems (1918).  The poem is untitled.  


  • A long time ago
    I went on a journey,
    Right to the corner
    Of the Eastern Ocean.
    The road there
    Was long and winding,
    And stormy waves
    Barred my path.
    What made me
    Go this way?
    Hunger drove me
    Into the World.
    I tried hard
    To fill my belly,
    And even a little
    Seemed a lot.
    But this was clearly
    A bad bargain,
    So I went home
    And lived in idleness.


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