Time & Brevity
Dum Res et Aetas
Translated by Herbert A. Giles (1898) · From Chinese Poetry in English Verse (1898)
Time & Brevity
From the court every eve to the pawnshop
I pass,
To come back from the river the drunkest of men;
As often as not I'm in debt for my glass; —
Well, few of us live to be threescore and ten.
The butterfly flutters from flower to flower.
The dragon-fly sips and springs lightly away.
Each creature is merry its brief little hour.
So let us enjoy our short life while we may.
Cite this poem
MLA
Fu, Tu. “Dum Res et Aetas.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/tu-fu/12/.
Chicago
Fu, Tu. “Dum Res et Aetas.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/tu-fu/12/.
Read this poem with the Codex →