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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE POEMS OF COLD MOUNTAIN: 206 by HAN SHAN

First Line: WHAT IS IT ABOUT PEOPLE THAT MAKES ME SIGH
Last Line: THEY'RE SENT CHASING WILL-O'-THE-WISPS AND LIES
Subject(s): CHINESE LITERATURE; LIFE;

What is it about people that makes me sigh
their endless encounters with happiness and pain
their kalpa-long round of births and deaths
their ceaseless travels throughout the four directions
Chang Wang Li and Chao their temporary names
the Six Paths and Three Mires so much tangled hemp
and just because their owners don't get free
they're sent chasing will-o'-the-wisps and lies



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