Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 7
饮 酒： 二 十 首
秋 菊 有 佳 色
裛 露 掇 其 英。
泛 此 忘 忧 物
远 我 遗 世 情。
一 觞 虽 独 进
杯 尽 壶 自 倾。
日 人 群 动 息
归 鸟 趋 林 鸣。
啸 傲 东 轩 下
聊 复 得 此 生。
Yin Jiu: Er Shi Shou
Qiu ju you jia se
Yi lu duo qi ying.
Fan ci wang you wu
Yuan wo yi shi qing.
Yi shang sui du jin
Bei jin hu zi qing.
Ri ren qun dong xi
Gui niao qu lin ming.
Xiao ao dong xuan xia
Liao fu dei ci sheng.
Drinking Wine: Twenty Poems: No. 7
Autumn chrysanthemums have beautiful colors
Dewdrops moisten and bind onto each blossom.
Float them on my wine
Let them sink, to forget the cares of the world.
Have one cup of wine by myself
Cup after cup till it’s all gone.
Sun setting, all things become still
Returning birds go to the forest to sing.
I am proudly singing below the eastern windows
Now just enjoy this moment of life.
Commentary:
Tao is celebrating the Mid-Autumn festival and time of year. Traditionally, chrysanthemum wine is consumed, along with other activities. The reference to the “eastern windows” expresses the joy and hope of a beautiful dawn, as well as creative insights. This expression was also used by Tao in his poem number five (5) of this series.