Poem on retirement
Song Ke Chinese
Yuan (1271–1368) or Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Not on view
Though Song Ke served the court of the first Ming emperor as a calligrapher, this poem about the joys of reclusion was probably written earlier, when he lived in his native Suzhou. The poem reads:
My house stands in a bamboo grove, on a stream outside the city wall.
Brush and inkstone are my hoe and plow;
No ditches furrow my spirit, no boundaries limit my mind.
On autumn days, sparrows chirp in the rice paddies;
No wheel ruts pit the road in the spring.
I’ve sown my seeds, and I am content, leading the life of a recluse,
Leaning on my cane, watching my children and grandchildren.
—Translation after Jonathan Chaves
On view January 31–August 14, 2022
#7470. Poem on Retirement
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