'Lazy Man's Song' by Bai JuYi
Lazy Man's Song I could have a job, but am too lazy to choose it; I have got land, but am too lazy to farm it. My house leaks; I am too lazy to mend it. My clothes are torn; I am too lazy to darn them. I have got wine, but I am too lazy to drink; So it's just the same as if my cup were empty. I have got a lute, but am too lazy to play; So it's just the same as if it had no strings. My family tells me there is no more steamed rice; I want to cook, but am too lazy to grind. My friends and relatives write me long letters; I should like to read them, but they're such a bother to open. I have always been told that Hsi Shu-yeh Passed his whole life in absolute idleness. But he played his lute and sometimes worked at his forge; So even he was not so lazy as I. Notes This poem taken from the book "People" in the Poems and Pictures series. Ed Dennis saunders / Vincent Oliver Pub Evans Brothers, London [page 2]