80
from Taoteching by Lao Tzu
Imagine a small state with a small population
let there be labor-saving tools
that aren’t used
let people consider death
and not move far
let there be boats and carts
but no reason to ride them
let there be armor and weapons
but no reason to employ them
let people return to the use of knots
and be satisfied with their food
and pleased with their clothing
and content with their homes
and happy with their customs
let there be another state so near
people hear its dogs and chickens
but live out their lives
without making a visit
Reprinted with permission of the translator. All rights reserved.
In Kaoling Describing My Feelings
to Commandant Lu of Sanyuan
from In Such Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu
The straight and the square rarely advance
I’m serving in the stupidest of posts
I don’t have time to open a book
buried beneath casework and records
the disaster of war has worn us all down
there’s no vacation from corvée and taxes
the downtrodden masses need help
but compassionate measures only cause us trouble
I think of retiring day and night
from outside my door I can see the old mountains
if you feel the same
let’s go back arm-in-arm together
The Ninth
from In Such Times: The Poetry of Wei Ying-wu
Suddenly I’m governing Wu Prefecture
and suddenly chrysanthemums are blooming
as I start to think of my garden back home
happily a group of guests arrives