Autumn Evening Sitting Alone

Here's my translation of a poem by the great Tang poet Wang Wei.  I came across this recently and it strikes me as near perfect way to describe my current frame of mind - very aware of the passing seasons but longing for something more.  In the case of Wang Wei, the poem (and in particular the last stanza) can only be understood in reference to his practice of Chan Buddhism.

Autumn Evening Sitting Alone

Sitting alone in sadness

Both temples furrowed

In an empty room

Awaiting second watch

There’s rain in the mountains

Where the fruits have fallen

And beneath the lamplight

Crickets cry in the damp grass

Hair grown white

From root to end

Is just as hard to transform

As the purest gold

Yearning for knowledge

To expunge age and illness

But who can attain the wisdom

Beyond birth and death

* * * * *

Here's the original version.  

秋夜独坐

独坐悲双鬓  空堂欲二更

雨中山果落  灯下草虫鸣

白发终难变  黄金不可成

欲知除老病  唯有学无生

*  *  *  * *

And here is a portrait of the scholar Fu Sheng that is a copy of a painting originally credited to Wang Wei:

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