A Body Like Gnarled Wood

Here's another poem by the 16th century Chan monk HanShan De Ching - a surprisingly upbeat description of the clarity of vision that comes with aging -- if only we could all be so fortunate.

A body like gnarled wood

A mind that’s ashen

Snow fills my head

Frost covers my cheeks

It’s not as if age has arrived

To dispel all melancholy

But nowhere do I behold

Even a spec of dust

形如枯木

憨山德清

形如枯木念如灰
雪滿頭顱霜滿腮
不是老來偏厭世
眼中無處著塵埃