Poems (Various)

Translated by Red Pine:

Traveling on the Yangtze

So close but plagued by wind and rain
I can't climb Kuanglushan
I wonder if in those mist-hidden caves
any Six Dynasty monks still dwell

by Ch'ien Hsu

The Meditation Hall behind Poshan Temple

I entered an ancient temple at dawn
the rising sun lit the tall trees
a trail led off to a secluded place
to a meditation hall in a flowering wood
where mountain light pleased the hearts of birds
and pond reflections stilled men's minds
the ten thousand noises were hushed
all I heard was a bell

by Ch'ang Chien

Written at the Sungting Relay Station

Hill shapes merge with the far-off sky
east of the mist-covered marshlands
the ocean glows with the day's first light
the river turns white in the distant wind
steep trails lead to a high plateau
small paths link columns of smoke
why are all my retired friends
not here among the Five Lakes

by Chang Hu

Climbing a Mountain

All day I feel lost as if drunk or in a dream
the I hear spring is over and force myself to climb
passing a bamboo courtyard I meet a monk and talk
and spend another afternoon beyond this floating life

by Li She

Helped to inspire this post: http://skyraft.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/dragon-breath-river/

Poems of China

On Lantern Festival at Imperial Request

A forest of jeweled candles forms a thousand peaks
the royal gate is graced by his iridescent presence
the procession isn't for the year's first moon
but for sharing joy of the people
the sky's clear light lasts all night
the world's mild air foreshadows the spring
the reason all wish him blessings of Huafeng
for more than forty years his benevolence has grown

By Ts'ai Hsiang, translated by Red Pine

Autumn Begins

Autumn begins unnoticed. Nights slowly lengthen,
and little by little, clear winds turn colder and colder,

summer's blaze giving way. My thatch hut grows still.
At the bottom stair, in bunchgrass, lit dew shimmers.

By Meng Hao'jan, translated by David Hinton.

5. Duckweed Lake

Beside this spring lake deep and wide, I find
myself waiting for your light boat to return:

duckweed slowly drifted together behind you,
and now hanging willows sweep it open again.

By Wang Wei, translated by David Hinton.

Poems from China

Poems by Meng hao-jan/translated by David Hinton

Autumn Begins

Autumn begins unnoticed. Nights slowly lengthen,
and little by little, clear winds turn colder and colder,

summer's blaze giving way. My thatch hut grows still.
At the bottom stair, in bunchgrass, lit dew shimmers.

Spring Dawn

In spring sleep, dawn arrives unnoticed.
Suddenly, all around, I hear birds in song.

A loud night. Wind and rain came, tearing
blossoms down, Who knows few or many?

Poem by Wang Wei/translated by David Hinton

Sent to a Monk from Buddha-Peak Monastery

Buddha-Peak monk,
Buddha-Peak Monk
returned to Kettle-Fold Mountain last autumn, didn't come back in spring.

Bird song and tumbling blossoms scatter through tangled confusion away.
Streamside door and mountain window all idleness and silence, silence-

up in those gorges, who would guess the great human drama even exists?
And when people in town gaze out, they see distant empty-cloud mountains.

Poem by Hsieh Ling-yun/translated by David Hinton

9

Nearby in the west are
Aspen and Guest Peaks sharing a mountain,
Halcyon and Emperor along a lazy ridgeline,

Stone-House Mountain facing Stone-Screen Cliff
across a gorge carved below Tier and Orphan,

its riverbanks thick bamboo colouring the current green,
reflected cliff-light turning mountain streamwater red.

Here the moon's hidden, darkened by peaks and summits,
and in rising wind, a forest of branches breaks into song.

Poem by Wang An-Shih/translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter)

North Mountain

North Mountain sends down green flooding the embankment
the city moat and crescent lake shimmer in the light
counting every falling petal I forget the time
searching for sweet-smelling plants I return home late