Buying and Selling
Throughout the day I sit behind the counter of my shopAnd the odours of my country are all about me—Areca nut, and betel leaf, and manioc,Lychee and suey sen,Li-un and dried seaweed,Tchah and sam-shu;And these carry my mind to half-forgotten daysWhen tales were plentiful and care was hard to hold.
All day I sell for trifling sums the wares of my own land,And buy for many cash such things as people wish to sell,That I may sell them again to others,With some profit to myself.
One night a white-skinned damsel came to meAnd offered, with fair words, something she wished to sell.
Now if I desire a jacket I can buy it with coin,Or barter for it something of my stock.If I desire rice-spirit, that, too, I can buy;And elegant entertainments and delights are all to be had for cash.
But there is one good thing above all precious,That no man may buy.And though I buy readily most things that I desire,This thing that the white maid offered at my own priceI would not buy.