The Jade Mountain/On Leaving Kiu-kiang Again

by Liu Zhangqing

ON LEAVING KIU-KIANG AGAIN

To Hsuëh and Liu

 

Dare I, at my age, accept my summons,Knowing of the world's ways only wine and song? . . .Over the moon-edged river come wildgeese from the Tartars;And the thinner the leaves along the Huai, the wider the southern mountains . . .I ought to be glad to take my old bones back to the capital,But what am I good for in that world, with my few white hairs? . . .As bent and decrepit as you are, I am ashamed to thank you,When you caution me that I may encounter thunderbolts.

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