Form

Tao Qian

Heaven and earth last. They’ll never end.
Mountains and rivers know no seasons,

and there’s a timeless law plants and trees
follow: frost then dew, vigor then ruin.

They call us earth’s most divine and wise
things, but we alone are never as we are

again. One moment we appear in this world,
and the next, we vanish, never to return.

And who notices one person less? Family?
Friends? They only remember when some

everyday little thing you’ve left behind
pushes grief up to their eyes in tears.

I’m no immortal. I can’t just soar away
beyond change. There’s no doubt about it,

death’s death. Once you see that, you’ll
see that turning down drinks is for fools.