1. Is there harm in weeping for times gone by,
When remembering stirs intense longing once quelled?

2. Grief flows freely when loved ones come to mind,
For memory stays linked to those held dear.

3. Only youth is heedless, remembering not,
Enduring hardship, ever sorrowful.

4. And many a once kind companion now mocks me,
Gray hairs disgrace me, and sunken cheeks.

5. I'm called uncle, though I'm not,
Once called brother, no longer.

6. Misfortunes of time have struck my face,
Marring my looks, saddening all.

7. Look closely and see on my face a trace
Of faded radiance in sunken cheeks.

8. Disregard the white of advancing years,
For I've not passed five and twenty.

9. Gray hair smiles impudently on my cheek,
Lacking reserve, with reckless disregard.

10. To me it brings respect and esteem,
If others see but disgrace and disdain.

11. When white hairs shine forth
Like shooting stars, have they not warded off demons?

12. When white hair smolders, it leaves
Only ash-gray residue deep within.