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Poem

Song Lin

Encountering Snow at Red Snail Temple

Snow, coming down aimlessly,
Giddy, eternal spell,
Or a stage for dreams;
Muddled footprints extend without end.
On the stairways to the Little Sky Gate,
The Buddhist pilgrims climb
Carrying with them another year of grief.

Stranded beside unmarked rocks,
Discarded straw sandals
Share the quiet with the snow.

O! Impetuous men
Looking back at the path they trekked
In the pine woods on the mountainside
As the village smoke
Melts away the first snow.
The flower of your secret wishes
Drifts down in circles
Before the Buddha Statues.

The wondrous realm is beyond words
As is the rapture of Sun greeting snow.
The bell tolls, again and again,
Echoing the silence of the mountains.

    (2005)

红螺寺遇雪

红螺寺遇雪

雪,无缘无故,
仿佛内部的晕眩,
仿佛梦的舞台,
空旷延伸凌乱足迹。
在通往小天门的台阶上,
怀着又一年的悲辛,
香客们攀登。

无主芒鞋,
寂寞载雪,
搁浅在乱石旁。

哦,莽撞的人,
回望着来路,
正当山两侧的松林里,
乡人的野烟,
消融着初雪。
你秘密的许愿之花,
也旋转着,
飘落在佛像前。

奇境无以言说,
像太阳和雪的销魂。
钟声一下复一下,撞响
千山的沉寂。

(2005)
Close

Encountering Snow at Red Snail Temple

Snow, coming down aimlessly,
Giddy, eternal spell,
Or a stage for dreams;
Muddled footprints extend without end.
On the stairways to the Little Sky Gate,
The Buddhist pilgrims climb
Carrying with them another year of grief.

Stranded beside unmarked rocks,
Discarded straw sandals
Share the quiet with the snow.

O! Impetuous men
Looking back at the path they trekked
In the pine woods on the mountainside
As the village smoke
Melts away the first snow.
The flower of your secret wishes
Drifts down in circles
Before the Buddha Statues.

The wondrous realm is beyond words
As is the rapture of Sun greeting snow.
The bell tolls, again and again,
Echoing the silence of the mountains.

    (2005)

Encountering Snow at Red Snail Temple

Snow, coming down aimlessly,
Giddy, eternal spell,
Or a stage for dreams;
Muddled footprints extend without end.
On the stairways to the Little Sky Gate,
The Buddhist pilgrims climb
Carrying with them another year of grief.

Stranded beside unmarked rocks,
Discarded straw sandals
Share the quiet with the snow.

O! Impetuous men
Looking back at the path they trekked
In the pine woods on the mountainside
As the village smoke
Melts away the first snow.
The flower of your secret wishes
Drifts down in circles
Before the Buddha Statues.

The wondrous realm is beyond words
As is the rapture of Sun greeting snow.
The bell tolls, again and again,
Echoing the silence of the mountains.

    (2005)
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Ludo Pieters Gastschrijver Fonds
Lira fonds
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère