Never attuned to worldly affairs
My inborn nature longing for mountain air
Being caught up in an earthly web, however
30 years have vanished into thin air
A caged bird lingers about familiar woods
Small pond fish never swim far from the hook
Plowing a patch of wasteland on the southern nook
I finally retreat to nature for a garden-field outlook
A few thatched huts are put up on acres of flat
Elms and willows shading the back
Peaches and plums greeting at the front
A village afar coming into view
Wisps of chimney smoke rising above the field
Dog-barks can be heard from deep alleys, roosters crow in mulberry trees
My patio is clear of clutter
The mind free for fond dreams
Being in a cage for too long
Now I am back to nature loving it
~ Translated by Dot, from Tao Yuanming’s “Back to Nature (Part One),” a series of ‘Field and Garden’ poems written in the Six Dynasties period
少无适俗韵，性本爱丘山。误入尘网中，一去三十年。
羁鸟恋旧林，池鱼思故渊。开荒南野际，守拙归园田。
方宅十余亩，草屋八九间。榆柳荫后檐，桃李罗堂前。
暧暧远人村，依依墟里烟。狗吠深巷中，鸡鸣桑树颠。
户庭无尘杂，虚室有余闲。久在樊笼里，复得返自然。
~ 陶淵明 (東晉末至南北朝) 《歸園田居 其一》
