Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Moon Poem


Moon Poem


perched on the highest peak I gaze
in all directions without end—
no one knows I sit here alone;
orphan moon shines on the cold stream,
but there’s no moon within the stream:
the moon’s after all in blue skies—
I recite this scrap of a song,
but in the song, no trace of Zen


translation © Jack Hayes 2018
based on Hanshan


For more on Hanshan (literally “Cold Mountain”) see this Wikipedia page.

Image links to its source on Wiki Commons:

“The Immortal Hanshan”: Attributed to Jiang Gui; c 1500 – Hanging scroll, ink on silk.

Public domain





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