374
mourning at Xia Mountain

1
mountain too steep
for the cranes to climb

tigers in the morning
cuckoos day and night

in the past so much laughter
with whom to cry now?

I weep for the mountain spirits
wind blows their moaning my way

a desperate wraith has hold of the moon
what emptiness – bone turns to ash

thunder over the waves here below
the river like arrows runs

no limit to caverns beneath the earth
in gorges wind, water, stone tussle

a monster roaming in these ridges
where is the rope to tether me here?

2
mist rises to heaven
and rain descends

just so
this boat appears
to have sunk
been resurrected
from the deep

stones and water
their clash like swords

the big waves are dragons
day and night wrestling

trees in blossom hide last year’s Spring
old autumns in the freezing wind

caves of the mountain
are full of dark speech

dark as the sky
or sorrows told

sound of the falls
rings round





3
Xia Mountain
with the sky

ten thousand ways
the Spring may flow

sun sets in fierce waves
where the river must go

a single drop flying
condenses to ether

now heaven’s possession
a thousand years

ah but high up
there’s no sun at noon

hungry beasts roam
their bones sticking out

gnarled roots grip the mountain
like coffins

in frosty trees the sad apes cry
their melodies are rare

but when you hear them
you know that you’re lost

this life as thin as silk
as rough as hemp

tears are all
that heaven holds

in spirits lost
the falling rain






4
wind pure as a chime
on Xia Mountain

stones in the water
fresh fish

waves down here
are heaven’s spent spittle

water as deep as a well
feeds the soul

but the guts are never full here
old rocks are angered

hear the water and stones
their quarrel unending






5
why is the hidden monster so sad?
only the mountain spirits can say

song of the mountain
not of human making

clash between water and stones
the breeze bears

hear rough breath
in the deep mountain pools







6
the slanderer’s heart
that of a small dragon –
fault drawn from thin air

they digest what would not
pass through straight intestines
how vile their sulphurous belches

teeth of stones
chew up the springs

wind blows – a thousand zithers
dim sorrow is never far off

where can I find the pure snow now?
the vigorous moon is climbing and climbs
caves in the mountain dark, deep







7
corners and edges of this mountain
slash at the sun and the moon

all things are slanted
the birds won’t fly straight

rocks in the pond snap like teeth
each to each

drowned spirits won’t be called back

fish scales flash
between the green rocks

sound of the water
just as of hunger

in Spring
the stink of the waterweed







8
mountain deep in dark mist

red lightning’s roots are hidden in water
green the rain falls

monsters in the village
dragons in the valley

flowers won’t blossom in Spring

till death alone
and then alone

fierce are the fish in poisonous ponds
what grows in slant fields about them?

sorrow – one more thing
which won’t be shared







9
the boat sails through thunderclaps
the mountain river runs
fierce as sword clashing

see lizards ashore
how carefully drink
they grip the rock not to fall

big wind, big rain
block the boat’s passage

many the rascals who’ve
come to the mountain
thinking to lay low here

fog grows from the water
fights off the light

loses the boat
in the fierce running river







10
owls make the human noises here
the smallest of dragons brings evil

in bright days then how heaven is flattered
spilt blood is hid in the gloom of the night

on Xia Mountain hungry apes pass on
birds won’t nest in slanted trees

so sharp the rocks around the springs
how helpless sorrows are!







Ten poems of mourning for the poor scholar official, Lu Yin

1
poets are a solitary stern outfit
starving to death they hug the mountain
to share the empty feeling

white clouds are masterless
it’s not unusual for them to float off

this man was sick for a long time
just a mat on the bed to cover his corpse

the funeral worker who’s come to attend
to young, too weak for the work
mice and rats gnaw the old books

you’ve gone to the home town of new ghosts
how sallow and poorly I look

I’m afraid that when I’m in the ground
no one will come after me

all the springs mourn for you
day and night – hear them murmur





2
insects colour the moon
with their concert

wind from Mang blows on Meng Jiao
I go to Snow Mountain to bury Lu Yin

all of these guests come condoling the dust

thorns grow north
bitter the tears

I pour my libation –
wine mingled with tears

I’m poorly, exhausted –
a fire won’t be fed

it’s the sound of water running
breaks the mourner’s heart





3
thorns and the winds howl
the wailing breaks up
but it returns

sorrow worries
weeping strings

I dream the world passing
through tears in my eyes





4
trees and grass
in Deng Feng deep
roads there are narrow

moss covers the world
where the sun won’t shine

the poor man died without a son
ants traverse the corpse

time long curled in a bed
there’s the sighing
tigers and leopards attend

no other visitors besides
his closest relatives were poems
they were his heart, they were his home

Han Yu wore off a part of the mountain
what he wrote there shines
ten thousand years





5
what is it a sage should bother about?

life is suffering
and death? whom to praise?

fame is a shelter
for the famous’ descendants

your name will moisten the mud

it’s a pity poems bloom and so soon

what’s withered is hard to give speech