One Thought, a Mortal Life · Stubborn and Foolish by Nature · 51 / 102
· Saxaul
A life that fills half a sheet of paper, a haze of wine, mixed into the cold, clear scene. Cattle and sheep beyond the frontier, watched into old age under the slanting sun—no more than yesterday's gladness. Idle and weary, I lie along the eaves-tooth, bare feet braced, alone in its deep quiet. Let the common world split and run where it will; tomorrow is still the pagoda-tree dream.
Don't blame the for fading early, nor the hungry birds for pecking it bare—it is their nature, after all. The long song of ten thousand ages, seen from today, has never had its true delight savored and sung. Again I wait for next year's spring, afraid, only afraid, of fighting for nothing. What then? Then remake the !
Glosses—
Saxaul: a sand-fixing plant that grows in sandy ground;
Eaves-tooth: the part of a roof's eaves that juts up like a tooth;
The pagoda-tree dream: see 'the Huai'an dream'; a figure for life being a dream and wealth and rank being impermanent.
*This piece is an original work. If you repost it, please credit the original author Shixi Lin; any infringement, once discovered, will be pursued for legal liability. In addition, the accompanying illustration comes from the internet and belongs to its original artist, Yichui Wuyue.