I didn’t realize the year was so late
or living apart was so lonely
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Wei Ying-wu
Going Down the Lo by Boat from Kunghsien into the Yellow River: To My Colleagues in the Perfecture and County Governments by Wei Ying-wu
The narrow water the green hills and the road lead east
the peaks to the southeast make way for the Great River
leafless trees are indistinct on the far horizon
evening light shimmers and sinks in the flood
how long have I lived in this village on the Yi
the sky clears and a lone goose lands with the North Wind
my dear itinerant colleagues back at Loyang Bridge
my little boat is loose and with it is my heart
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On a Moonlit Night Meeting at Hsu Eleven’s Thatched Hut by Wei Ying-wu
In an empty study with nothing to do
you loosened your hair strings and waited for a friend
it wasn’t a night for reading
but for writing poems about the moon
after listening to the bell and sleeping in comfort
we rolled up dew-covered blinds
and sensed another fall was near
while the fading river tried to hold off dawn
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In Reply to Commissioner Ts’ui by Wei Ying-wu
A courtyard of bamboo and late-night snow
a lone lantern a book on the table
if I hadn’t encountered the teaching of no effort
how else could I have gained this life of leisure
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In Yangchou Unexpectedly Meeting Former Secretary Lu Keng of Loyang by Wei Ying-wu
In the land of Ch’u friends are rare
meeting you here was unexpected
I’ve kept your letters close to my heart
how strange to see white in your hair
our cups overflow with an innkeeper’s wine
our luggage is full of river-travel poems
may we ride forth together again
as we once did on Loyang Bridge
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The Third Day of the Third Month: To My Cousins and Thinking of Commissioner Ts’ui by Wei Ying-wu
The season seems to be ending early
this morning felt sadder still
the wind stirs a heartbreaking spring
and the pond chills a flowerless night
the longer I look at the wine
the clearer you become
who is that walking along the winding river
looking for my footprints and thinking of me
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Passing Shaolin Hermitage: To Friends in the Capital by Wei Ying-wu
I reined in my horse below a pine ridge
and hiked to the lookout on top
the trail appeared impassable as I started out
but once I arrived I wished it were longer
from the summit I heard a chorus of winds
in the woods I bathed in a secluded stream
the sound of a bell roused me on the Way
the evening chime cleared the clouds and mist
though my visit was brief
I finally saw what caused my troubles
but when I thought about building a hut
I knew it would have to wait for old age
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Climbing a Tower by Wei Ying-wu
I climb this tower every day and look out
at the passing years slipping into darkness
right now I’m sick of this post in Huainan
and all the red trees in these autumn hills
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Leaving the Yangtze: To Secretary Yuan Ta by Wei Ying-wu
With a sigh I left someone dear
and floated off into the mist and fog
with oars bent for Loyang
and Kuangling’s bells and treeline fading
this morning when we said goodbye
we wondered where we would next meet
in a world like a boat on the waves
rising and falling with no shore in sight
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In Reply to Li Huan by Wei Ying-wu
I left the Yiching in the woods
now I drift with the gulls by the stream
among the singers of the way of Ch’u
to whom do you most often turn
translated by Red Pine
Leonard Durso 