I left the Yiching in the woods
now I drift with the gulls by the stream
among the singers of the ways of Ch’u
to whom do you most often turn
translated by Red Pine
posted ahead of time for my good friend Jeff Schwaner’s reading pleasure
Wei Ying-wu
Chuchou’s West Stream by Wei Ying-wu
I love unnoticed plants that grow beside a stream
orioles singing overhead somewhere in a tree
at dusk the current quickens fed by springtime rain
I pull myself across an unmanned country ferry
translated by Red Pine
Setting Sail on the Yang-tsze by Wei Ying-wu (written to Secretary Yuan)
Wistful, away from my friends and kin,
Through mist and fog I float and float
With the sail that bears me toward Lo-yang.
In Yang-chou trees linger bell-notes of evening,
Marking the day and the place of our parting. . . .
When shall we meet again and where?
. . .Destiny is a boat on the waves,
Borne to and fro, beyond our will.
translated by Witter Bynner & Kiang Kang-hu
On Sound by Wei Ying-wu
Ten thousand things are heard when born,
But the highest heaven’s always still.
Yet everything must begin in silence,
And into silence it vanishes.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
Longing in My Heart by Wei Ying-wu
Shall I ask the willow trees on the dike
For whom do they wear their green spring dress?
In vain I saunter to the places of yesterday,
And I do not see yesterday’s people.
Weaving through myriad courtyards and village squares,
Coming and going, the dust of carriages and horses–
Do not say I have met with no acquaintance:
Only they are not those close to my heart.
translated by Irving Y. Lo
Leonard Durso 