One Thought, a Mortal Life · Above and Below, All Connected · 80 / 102
· Easing the Strain
Lamp lit, I read into the night—long, and long again; album leaves pile up—basket upon basket again. Yellow-ripe that sinks in water—fragrant, and fragrant again; the soul of the ink lends its color—line upon line again.
Glosses—
lamp lit: to light the lamp;
album leaves: calligraphy and paintings mounted page by page into an album;
yellow-ripe: mature aloeswood that has lain buried in the earth a very long time;
sinks in water: aloeswood is prized precisely because it sinks in water.
*This piece is an original work. 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 illustration comes from the internet and belongs to its original artist, Hehewu.