On First Seeing Huaishan (translation)
Jim Maybury
I have traveled
day and night
toward the Great River
and the Sea,
Past maple leaves
and reed catkins
in the long autumn.
Suddenly,
Huaihe
is lost
in the sky.
My boat rises
on the waves,
green mountains
seem to dip.
Near Shouzhou
I saw
the white
stone
pagoda,
The punt
moving us
more slowly
toward the
yellow
grass
wilderness.
Now the waves
are calm,
the breeze
is soft,
the pagoda
gone;
At Yingkou
my people
stood,
dim figures
in the
fog and
mist.
--Su Dongpo
day and night
toward the Great River
and the Sea,
Past maple leaves
and reed catkins
in the long autumn.
Suddenly,
Huaihe
is lost
in the sky.
My boat rises
on the waves,
green mountains
seem to dip.
Near Shouzhou
I saw
the white
stone
pagoda,
The punt
moving us
more slowly
toward the
yellow
grass
wilderness.
Now the waves
are calm,
the breeze
is soft,
the pagoda
gone;
At Yingkou
my people
stood,
dim figures
in the
fog and
mist.
--Su Dongpo