Living
Written When Governor of Soochow
Translated by Arthur Waley (1919) · From More Translations from the Chinese (1919)
A Government building, not my own home.
A Government garden, not my own trees.
But at Lo-yang I have a small house
And on Wei River I have built a thatched hut.
I am free from the ties of marrying and giving in marriage;
If I choose to retire, I have somewhere to end my days.
And though I have lingered long beyond my time,
To retire now would be better than not at all!
Cite this poem
MLA
Chü-i, Po. “Written When Governor of Soochow.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/95/.
Chicago
Chü-i, Po. “Written When Governor of Soochow.” Translated by Arthur Waley. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/po-chu-i/95/.
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