A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems/On Going to a Tavern

by Arthur Waley

ON GOING TO A TAVERN

By Wang Chi

These days, continually fuddled with drink,
I fail to satisfy the appetites of the soul.
But seeing men all behaving like drunkards,^[1]
How can I alone remain sober?

 

1. Written during the war which preceded the T'ang dynasty.