February 07th, 2020

On Thatch-Hut Mountain

Above jumbled canyons opening suddenly
Out and away, level road all breaking off,
These thronging peaks nestle up together.
People come and go without a trace here,
Sun and moon hidden all day and night,
Frost and snow falling summer and winter.
Scale cliff-walls to gaze into dragon pools
And climb trees to peer into nursery dens.
No imagining mountain visits. And now I
Can’t get enough, just walk on and on,
And even a single dusk and dawn up here
Shows you the way through empty and full.

Hsieh Ling-yun (385-433)