Abundance in the Everyday (T'ao Yuan-ming)

I made the mistake of staying up last night to watch part of Trump's acceptance speech.  It agitated me tremendously and made it difficult to fall asleep, just imagining four years of this bombast about making America great.  To cleanse my spirit and set things straight this morning I decided to translate another short poem by T'ao Yuan-ming - these calming words being the best antidote I could imagine for all the countless hours of bilious rhetoric.

Oh from early years

Down to the present day

I pursued a plain

And humble way

As years flowed by  

Industry did little

To improve my lot

My ambition became simply   

To retain what I’d already gotten

Content with abundance in the everyday

Though in truth my heart remains prone

To distress and inner craving

其三

嗟予小子

禀兹固陋

徂年既流

业不增旧

志彼不舍

安此日富

我之怀矣

怛焉内疚