Classic Poem

1

My friends appreciate my way of life,
And bearing wine pots all together come;
We clear the weeds to sit beneath the pine,
With several cups of wine we drunk become
When all the elders midst confusion speak,
And drinking is from all conventions freed;
We do not know if we ourselves exist,
And pay to the material world no heed
In carefree drinking thus ourselves forget,
For in the wine a deeper truth is set.

2

There lived a scholar who was fond of wine,
But since he had no money could not buy;
Sometimes he was provided by his friends
With wine, if he their problems would untie
And when the cup was filled he drained it straight,
And when advice was asked would not refuse
But sometimes he would not his counsel give,
For unjust cause his gift would not abuse.
For when a wise man is desired to teach,
He will not err by silence or by speech