East of the Town

From office confinement all year long,
I have come out of town to be free this morning
Where willows harmonize the wind
And green hills lighten the cares of the world.
I lean by a tree and rest myself
Or wander up and down a stream.
. . . Mists have wet the fragrant meadows;
A spring dove calls from some hidden place.
. . . With quiet surroundings, the mind is at peace,
But beset with affairs, it grows restless again . . .
Here I shall finally build me a cabin,
As T'ao Chien built one long ago.