Living

Poems in Depression, at Wei Village

by Po Chü-i 772–846

Translated by Arthur Waley (1919) · From More Translations from the Chinese (1919)

Living

I hug my pillow and do not speak a word;
In my empty room no sound stirs.
Who knows that, all day a-bed,
I am not ill and am not even asleep?

Turned to jade are the boy’s rosy cheeks;
To his sick temples the frost of winter clings....
Do not wonder that my body sinks to decay;
Though my limbs are old, my heart is older yet.

MLA

Chü-i, Po. “Poems in Depression, at Wei Village.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/76/.

Chicago

Chü-i, Po. “Poems in Depression, at Wei Village.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/76/.

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