Mo Shan Xi · Unbridled

Clear wind and a bright moon rinse clean the traveler in the dust. Notes of the qin wind round the stream and hills; my lone shadow breaks apart, and bees and butterflies keep teasing it. I drift through blue-green mist, a heavenly fragrance loosed from my sleeves; the shower passes, the rushes and reeds sway, and heaven and earth open as wide as the heart.

A lifetime cast adrift — no matter that talent and name go under. The common world has no business here; deep sleep is sweet, so let it fall where it falls. Early autumn, cool and easy: I lie high among the water and clouds, awake as if drunk, laughing at the rest — why go on searching so hard?