Saturday, September 30, 2017

Autumn Dusk in the Mountains (Wang Wei)

A beautiful poem about the onset of autumn by the Tang poet Wang Wei.  In keeping with the Chan tradition, it is in the change of the season that the poet finds a deeper continuity in nature.


In the empty mountains
After a freshening rain
The weather has cleared
And now autumn is here

The moon shines brightly
Illuminating the pines
The clear water flows
Over a rocky stream bed

The bamboo rustles as
Washerwomen pass below
The bed of lotus stirs under
The fisherman’s boat

The idea comes to mind
As spring’s fragrance fades
Down through the generations
It’s only nature that remains




山居秋暝

空山新雨後     天气晚来秋
明月松     清泉石上流
竹喧浣女     莲动
随意春芳歇     自可留



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