Old age has few joys or comforts,
Let alone lying sick in bed.
Drawing water to put new flowers in,
I hope to console myself with the floating fragrance.
The floating fragrance lasts only a moment,
And I too – how can I endure long?
The new flowers and the old I
Are all over, and both may be forgotten.
From: Liu, James J. Y., “Six Poems by Wang An-Shih” in Renditions, Autumn 1973, pp. 91-93.
(https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/rct/pdf/e_outputs/b01/v01p091.pdf)
Date: 11th century (original in Chinese); 1973 (translation in English)
By: Wang Anshi (1021-1086)
Translated by: James J Y Liu (1926-1986)
From Troubles of The World 