[updated September 2022]
Chanting Alone Amid the Mountains
山 中 独 吟
人 名 有 一 癖
我 癖 在 章 句。
万 缘 皆 已 销
此 病 独 未 去。
每 逢 美 风 景
咸 对 好 亲 故。
高 声 咏 一 篇
怳 若 与 神 遇。
自 为 江 上 客
半 在 山 中 柱。
有 时 新 诗 成
独 上 东 岩 路。
身 倚 白 石 崖
手 攀 青 桂 树。
狂 吟 惊 林 壑
猿 鸟 皆 窥 觑。
恐 为 世 所 嗤
故 就 无 人 处。
Shan Zhong Du Yin
Ren ge you yi pi
Wo pi zai zhang ju.
Wan yuan jie yi xiao
Ci bing du wei qu.
Mei feng mei feng jing
Huo dui hao qin gu.
Gao sheng yong yi pian
Huang ruo yu shen yu.
Zi wei jiang shang ke
Ban zai shan zhong zhu.
You shi xin shi cheng
Du shang dong yan lu.
Shen yi bai shi ya
Shou pan qing gui shu.
Kuang yin jing lin he
Yuan niao jie kui qu.
Kong wei shi suo chi
Gu jiu wu ren chu.
Chanting Alone Amid the Mountains
Every person has one addiction
Mine is to create lines and stanzas of poetry.
Already the many other connections to society have been cancelled
This one illness alone cannot be done away with.
Every time I encounter a beautiful landscape
Perhaps when also missing my good and old friends and relatives.
Chant high sounds for each piece of writing
Like having a meeting with the spirits and deities.
Naturally all the rivers make me a guest and visitor
Half of the time I live in the middle of the mountains.
With each season I produce new poems
Alone I go to the eastern escarpments.
My body relies upon rocky cliff edges
Hands cling to the green cassia trees.
From forest pools my crazy chanting startles
Monkeys and birds squint and spy on me.
I fear human society will send their sneers my way
This is the reason why I dwell here without people nearby.