Lawrence Hall, HSG
Meditation and Merriment in Early Autumn
We cannot stay young and strong for long -
Both of us have grey hair at the temples
-Du Fu, “To the Recluse Wei the Eighth”
After summer rains the earth is still green
In the cooling breeze oak leaves dance happily
Old lawn chairs are the humble chairs of poets
Old lawn chairs are the glorious thrones of kings
The seasons remind us of our mortality
We sit and ponder the mysteries of change
We will die, to be replaced by other poets
Who will sit and ponder the mysteries of change
And still, whatever these deep thoughts betoken -
I need to mow, but the lawn mower is broken
Three Hundred Tang Poems
Translated by Peter Harris
London: Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets, 2009
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