To his Friend at Chiang -Hsia
At Nan-ping I met the governor and opened my heart; Now with you I may hold sweet conversation. Even as the leagues of cloud melt above the mountain, Opening the view of the blue sky around, so melts my grief.
Oh, grief! Oh, bitter pain, and pain evermore!
Sorrowing, I drink two thousand jugs of wine —
The cold ashes are warm again, and the spring is born.
And you, jolly wise host without compare,
Drunken, you go about, riding on the back of a mule.
In the cloister yonder under clouds and the moon there
are monks galore. But the mountains and waters — did they ever cater to
man's desires? Ah, no! Better blow your reed pipes, beat your drums,
and wanton on the river water. Call forth the young girls of the south and bid them
sing the boat songs!
I will knock down the Yellow Crane House for you with a hammer,
You may upset the Parrot Island, too, for my sake.
The heroic battle of the Red Walls was fought as in a dream —
Let me sing and dance and lighten the sorrow of sep- aration !
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