Water spilled on level ground
Runs east, west, south or north, and whichever way it pleases.
A man’s life is also governed by fate,
Then why must we always sigh as we journey and grieve as we sit?
Drink your wine to please yourself;
Raise your cup and forswear singing “The Weary Road.”
But since a man’s heart isn’t wood or stone,
How could it be without feeling?
Thus I weep, I hesitate, I dare not speak.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
Thanks for posting this, L! I needed to read something exactly like this today. Don’t think I have read Pao Chao before.
Glad you liked it, Jeff. Will post Section Two as soon as I’m done answering comments.