PagineSent to Li Po as a Gift
by Tu Fu (Du Fu)
Translated by Florence Ayscough & Amy Lowell (1921) · From Fir-Flower Tablets
Autumn comes,
We meet each other.
You still whirl about as a thistledown in the wind.
Your Elixir of Immortality is not yet perfected
And, remembering Ko Hung, you are ashamed.
You drink a great deal,
You sing wild songs,
Your days pass in emptiness.
Your nature is a spreading fire,
It is swift and strenuous.
But what does all this bravery amount to?
This poem and this translation are in the public domain. Source text: Project Gutenberg.