MEN'S hearts love gold and jade; Men's mouths covet wine and flesh. Not so the old man of the stream; He drinks from his gourd and asks nothing more. South of the stream he cuts firewood and grass; North of the stream he has built wall and roof. Yearly he sows a single acre of land; In spring he drives two yellow calves. In these things he finds great repose; Beyond these he has no wish or care. By chance I met him walking by the water-side; He took me home and lodged me in his thatched hut. When I parted from him, to seek market and Court, This old man asked my rank and pay. Doubting my tale, he laughed loud and long: "Privy Councillors do not sleep in barns." (@3Arthur Waley@1) | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...SMALL COUNTRIES by JAMES GALVIN THE RETURN (2) by GEORGIA DOUGLAS JOHNSON SPARKLING AND BRIGHT by CHARLES FENNO HOFFMAN THE RUBAIYAT, 1879 EDITION: 101 by OMAR KHAYYAM SOMETIME by MAY LOUISE RILEY SMITH TO WAKEN AN OLD LADY by WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS |