Su Dongpo (1037-1101)
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve. You'd think I could go home early
but official business keeps me.
I hold the brush and face them with tears:
Pitiful convicts in chains,
Little men, who tried to fill their bellies,
fell into the law's net, not understanding understand disgrace.
And I? In love with a meager stipend
I hold on to my job and miss the chance to retire.
Don't ask who's foolish or wise!
All of us alike scheme for a meal.
The ancients would have freed them a while at New Year's.
Would I dare do otherwise? I am silent with shame.
*Written in
1071 when Su was vice-governor of Hangzhou. By
tradition, criminal cases involving the
death penalty had to be settled before the beginning of the new year.