Drunk tonight at East Slope sobered up then drank again
it was after midnight when I finally made it home
the houseboy was asleep and snoring like thunder
I knocked on the gate but nobody answered
leaning on my cane I listened to the river

Long have I regretted this life I don’t control
will I ever stop running errands
with night about to end and a night wind on the water
I’m leaving in my sampan
to spend my last years on the river

translated by Red Pine