Lot 24 of 100
It does not make a neighborhood, and it does not make a home
The poem
不成鄰里不成家水泡痴人似落花若問君恩難得力到頭畢竟事如蔴
In English
It does not make a neighborhood, and it does not make a home.A foolish person is like a bubble on water or a falling blossom.If you ask whether the lord's favor will help much,in the end the matter turns out tangled like hemp.
What it says
The poem is somber: it speaks of neither belonging nor a settled home, and of something as fragile as a bubble or a fallen petal. Even leaning on a patron's favor, matters end up tangled like hemp. It gently suggests not placing all your hope in others' help, and untangling your own situation first.
A thought to take with you
Sort out your own loose ends first, and do not rest all your hopes on someone else.