YU QIAN 1398-1457
CANTO A LA CAL
A cien martillazos y mil golpes
te sacan de las entrañas de la montaña.
¡Qué te importa que te quemen
las llamas más vivas
y que te hagan polvo!
Lo importante para ti
es dejar constar para siempre
lo limpia y lo pura que eres.
[Auden, In praise of Limestone]
Tang Yin 1470-1524
Thoughts
I don’t pursue the pill of immortality, don’t meditate,
eat when hungry, sleep when tired,
and to make a living, I’ve a painter’s brush that also writes poetry.
My footprints can always be found by flowers and willows.
In the mirror I am aging with the spring.
By a lamp my wife and I share the full moon.
Ten thousand occasions of pleasure, a thousand times drunk,
I am a lazy person in the human world, an immortal on earth.