A Hundred and Seventy Chinese Poems/Regret

by Yüan Chi

REGRET

By Yüan Chi [210–263]

When I was young I learnt fencing
And was better at it than Crooked Castle.^[1]
My spirit was high as the rolling clouds
And my fame resounded beyond the World.
I took my sword to the desert sands,
I drank my horse at the Nine Moors.
My flags and banners flapped in the wind,
And nothing was heard but the song of my drums.

 

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War and its travels have made me sad,

And a fierce anger burns within me:
It's thinking of how I've wasted my time
That makes this fury tear my heart.

 

1. A famous general.