[updated September 2022]
Old Age Together With Illness That Still Remains, Can Naturally Write Poetry That Gets to the Point
老 病 相 仍， 以 诗 自 解
荣 枯 忧 喜 与 彭 殇
都 似 人 间 戏 一 场。
虫 臂 鼠 肝 犹 不 怪
鸡 肤 鹤 发 复 何 伤。
昨 因 风 发 甘 长 往
今 遇 阳 和 又 小 康。
还 似 远 行 装 束 了
迟 回 且 住 亦 何 妨。
Lao Bing Xiang Reng Yi Shi Zi Xie
Rong ku you xi yu peng shang
Dou si ren jian xi yi chang.
Chong bi shu gan you bu guai
Ji fu he fa fu he shang.
Zuo yin feng fa gan chang wang
Jin yu yang he you xiao kang.
Huai si yuan xing zhuang shu liao
Chi hui qie zhu yi he fang.
Old Age Together With Illness Still Remains, Can Naturally Write Poetry That Gets to the Point
To thrive and die, have concerns and joys in Peng’s youth
Everywhere humans are between acts in a play.
Not so strange little animals will eventually turn us into other living things
Skin like chicken feet and white hair of old age are not wounds.
Yesterday’s illnesses in the end makes our passing sweet
But today I meet the sun feeling a bit more healthy.
Prepare and pack for the final journey, but things are not completely ready
For now, there is no harm in sticking around a while longer.
Notes:
Peng: An almost immortal man who has already lived 800 years.
Not so strange: Allusion to a famous line from Zhuangzi. Literally it means
we turn into “insect arms and rat livers.”