When Drunk I Veer to Gleefulness

(From the Chinese of Hsin Ch’i-chi, 1140-1207AD)

When drunk I veer to gleefulness
– it’s no time to be grieving –
and lately felt our sages’ books
held little worth believing.

Last night, falling drunk against a pine,
I asked it, ‘How’m I doing?’
But thinking it meant to hold me up,
pushed it, and cooed ‘Get going!’

From ‘Translations of Classical Chinese Poetry’