One Thought, a Mortal Life · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 26 / 102
· Drifting Snow
Raiders roam the passes at will; the spirit handed down from of old shows a heart laid bare. On the city wall, grown old, the winter-enduring flower calls. On to fight the Wolf Star again; snow chills the steady dark eye. Rousing the ancient road — still a blur of white.
Lift the long sword and before the Lord of Heaven — one cup, shared through treacherous ground and smooth. With what life is left, wash the violence and upheaval clean; haul the back by main strength, for the long years to come. On the road of strangers we look once more: at the heroes' mound, only the warmth of gunsmoke remains.
Glosses—
The wind handed down (liú fēng): the customs passed down from earlier generations;
To reveal one's heart (jiàn dǎn): to meet another with complete sincerity;
Winter-enduring flower (rěn dōng): the honeysuckle; because when its old leaves wither and fall at the end of autumn new green has already sprouted in the axils of the leaves, and it does not wilt through the winter, it is also called "rěn dōng," the winter-enduring;
Wolf Star: also named the Dog Star; by old accounts it stands for invasion and plunder;
The dark eye: the black pupil held at the center of the socket. It signifies steadfastness;
A blur of white (mí màn): describes smoke and dust, or wind and snow, filling the whole sky and covering the ground in one vast haze;
Treacherous ground and smooth: the perilous and the level.
*This work is original. If you repost it, please credit the original author Shixi Lin; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued to the full extent of the law. In addition, the accompanying image comes from the internet and belongs to the original artist Yichui Wuyue.