Classic Poem

White hair shrouds both my temples,
my skin and flesh have lost their fullness.
Though I have five male children,
not one of them loves brush and paper.
A-shu's already twice times eight—
in laziness he's never been rivaled.
A-hsüan's going on fifteen
but cares nothing for letters or learning.
Yung and Tuan are thirteen
and can't tell a 6 from a 7!
T'ung-tzu's approaching age nine—
all he does is hunt for chestnuts and pears.
If this is the luck Heaven sends me,
then pour me the “thing in the cup”!