Chu Hsi
The Farm by the Lake
For ten miles the mountains rise
Above the lake. The beauty
Of water and mountain is
Impossible to describe.
In the glow of evening
A traveler sits in front
Of an inn, sipping wine.
The moon shines above a
Little bridge and a single
Fisherman. Around the farm
A bamboo fence descends to
The water. I chat with an
Old man about work and crops.
Maybe, when the years have come
When I can lay aside my
Cap and robe of office,
I can take a little boat
And come back to this place.

(from "One Hundred Poems from the Chinese)

transl. by Kenneth Rexroth