The sun and moon will not slow doom;
Four seasons press each other on.
The chilly wind strips trees away;
Fallen leaves strewn along the way.
My health turns weak with worsened fate;
My black hair has whitened of late.
Of age my head bears the pale sign,
My forward way on the decline.
My home becomes an inn for rest;
The dweller's rather like a guest.
Oh, where, oh, where can I still go?
To the graveyard 'neath southern hill.
日月不肯迟，四时相催迫。
寒风拂枯条，落叶掩长陌。
弱质与运颓，玄鬓早已白。
素标插人头，前途渐就窄。
家为逆旅舍，我如当去客。
去去欲何之？南山有旧宅。
Miscellaneous Poems VII was composed around 414 AD during Tao Yuanming's later years. Having retreated to rural life and approaching old age, he no longer resisted life's transitions or the laws of mortality, instead accepting them with transcendent serenity. Through seasonal changes and impending aging, this poem employs the metaphor of life as a journey ("sojourner's lodge") culminating in the "old abode" - the family burial ground - revealing a philosopher's detachment beyond worldly concerns, free from joy or fear.
Classical Chinese poetry thrives on Concision and Ambiguity. Without tense or number, the words create a timeless space where the reader becomes the co-creator of the poem's meaning.
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