One Thought, a Mortal Life · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 22 / 102
· The Banished Immortal
The clear radiance hangs heavy; threads of wind run dark and cold; the road home is gone — in the Nine Reaches he hides his form. Calm upon the Mirage Sea, the flute's note flows into . The peacock folds its fan of feathers; all is still.
Catkins drift in the misty air; nursing regret, tugged by love, sunk in pain. gone, and the knot in the heart is only this: lost, thin and worn — this very night the world of men understands. Better than riding the clouds and .
Glosses—
Hiding the form (yi jing): to conceal one's shape and shadow; that is, to live in seclusion;
Nine Reaches (jiǔ gāi): the land from the center out to the eight extremities;
Mirage Sea: a place name in ancient Han Chinese myth. Dongfang Shuo of the Han dynasty of China, in his preface to the Record of the Ten Continents: "I once followed my master on his travels, going as far as Zhuling, Fusang, the Mirage Sea, and the Hill of Dark Night, the Mound of Pure Yang, the region below the First Green, and the abyss of the Moon Palace."
*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.