An Insatiable Desire

All day I toil and bustle, just to stave off hunger; once I've had my fill, I start wishing for clothes. With food and clothes both taken care of, I turn to dreaming of a beautiful wife. After marrying a lovely wife and having a son, I fret over having no land and too little to my name. Once I've bought a broad stretch of fertile fields, I complain that I don't have enough horses to ride when I go out. I fill the stable with mules and horses, then worry that people will bully me without an official post. Even a seventh-rank county magistrate seems too low, so I dream of wearing purple robes at court. Made prime minister, the highest official in the land, I still want to seize the empire and take the throne. Satisfied at last as emperor, I then long for immortality. Once I obtain the elixir of eternal life, I'll challenge even Heaven to see who's greater. Never enough, never enough: we never know contentment. What can be done about this life of ours? If the world is ever to be satisfied, it will take nothing less than a dream of the southern branch.