Revelations from Poet Atop a Mountain

 Revelations from Poet Atop a Mountain

After an arduous climb to the top of the mountain,
I looked back to see them looking at me;
Waiting for an answer, they queried,
“What do you see, ‘O Great One’ of the Ming Dynasty?”

What could I see? (Cloud cover below my feet.)
But I could hear echoes, and so I imagined tranquility
and painted a picture of myself
atop the mountain, leaning on a bramble staff
breathing deeply while gazing out far and free,
and put together words of poetry
to describe what I had heard and seen.
                                 ***

Poet on a Mountaintop by Shen Zhou, (Chinese, 1427–1509)
(translation from Indiana University)

White clouds sash-like
      wrap mountain waists,
The rock terrace flies in space
      distant, a narrow path.
Leaning on a bramble staff
      far and free I gaze,
To warble of valley brook
      I will reply, whistling.
                    ***

artimageryinspirationnatureperspectiveverse

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John Watt

January 26, 2022 at 4:09 PM

This is lovely, Dennis. Other than Dante Rossetti, I have not known of any other painter who combined poetry with art. Perhaps there are others such as Shen Zhou that I have not heard of, but I have wondered why there aren't more artists who do this. Thank you for bringing this artistic soul to our attention.

Dennis Spilchuk

January 28, 2022 at 9:17 AM

Your wonderful comments are inspiring and sincerely appreciated. Shen Zhou's "Poet on a Mountaintop" is amazing.