grey dusk, and the concrete road, the tunnel lights
power lines, and the foggy county, a roadside signs
roadside trees, the signal lights turn, a new years
murky chimney smoke, the ink bloomed, an old shrine
the sky’s clarity gone, pitch lowered, stray clouds
road extends, Gantang, the black stone, pine dreams
tears blur sight, the hills asleep like bright gods
nightfall, man-made starlight, the tremble elm rows
see the wildly surging thousand-year brown falls so
without a bell, the mute earth shall never yet stir
red lights, and the beams from a far high tower now
why must you pierce the circling mountain mist, so?
long night now plays Minyue’s most wistful old song
waiting for the ancient beast and its gut to awaken
late winter froze the shack’s playsong and blossoms
cold moon quietly rises behind the mountain’s spine
forest sea, cloud sea roll back the old rite’s veil
I’ll never find this iris all soaked in blood again