Down Zhongnan Mountain

by Li Bai

Down the blue mountain in the evening,

　　Moonlight was my homeward escort.

　　Looking back, I saw my path

　　Lie in levels of deep shadow....

　　I was passing the farm-house of a friend,

　　When his children called from a gate of thorn

　　And led me twining through jade bamboos

　　Where green vines caught and held my clothes.

　　And I was glad of a chance to rest

　　And glad of a chance to drink with my friend....

　　We sang to the tune of the wind in the pines;

　　And we finished our songs as the stars went down,

　　When, I being drunk and my friend more than happy,

　　Between us we forgot the world.

　　Li Po