Thursday, May 18, 2017

60 - With Respects to the Henan Magistrate

A few days ago I celebrated my 60th birthday.  Discomforted by a severe head cold and few sleepless nights in the run up (thanks to both a hacking cough and an unaccustomed sense of nighttime dread), I hadn't been looking forward to the occasion.  But my wife threw a small party and I ended up being very sweetly escorted into the new decade with a handful of family and friends.  My younger son serenaded me with his rendition of Neil Young's Old Man Take a Look at My Life and my closest friends took the opportunity to embarrass me with stories regarding some of the poet's youthful indiscretions.

I wasn't going to let the chance pass by to read a translation of one of my favorite Tang poets.  I picked this poem by Bai Juyi.  Although it's not entirely clear, my best guess is that Bai Juyi is addressing himself here because he was, in fact, a governor in Henan right around the time he himself turned 60.




Sixty years old
Is the Henan magistrate
The outlook has become
Exceedingly clear

Age must be accepted
There’s no place to hide
Though illness is not
An immediate fear

Blessed by many days of
Fragrant blossoms
Still possessed of
Vigor and ample means

But the gold coins have
Lost their luster
One small cup seems
More than enough

The waters flow on
And time grows scarcer
Glory is slow in arriving
It sits like a cloud floating
On the distant horizon

Our human lot
Would be unbearable
Without wine
So let’s empty our cups
As our hair becomes
Finer than silk

* * * * *

六十拜河南尹
白居易


六十河南尹     前途足可知
     病不与人期
幸遇芳菲日     犹富
万金何假藉     莫推辞
流水光阴急     浮云富贵迟
-->
苦无酒     尽合





     

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