The Mind
Ultimate Causes
Translated by Herbert A. Giles (1898) · From Chinese Poetry in English Verse (1898)
The Mind
Trees grow, not alike, by the mound and the moat;
Birds sing in the forest with varying note;
Of the fish in the river some dive and some float.
The mountains rise high and the waters sink low.
But the why and the wherefore we never can know.
Cite this poem
MLA
Liang, Wu-ti of. “Ultimate Causes.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wu-ti-liang/2/.
Chicago
Liang, Wu-ti of. “Ultimate Causes.” Translated by Herbert A. Giles. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wu-ti-liang/2/.
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