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  • By David B. Gosselin

Chinese Mountain Man III: The Climb


Poet on a Mountain Top - Shen Zhou (1368–1644) Ming Dynasty)
Poet on a Mountain Top - Shen Zhou (1427–1509)

Who goes there, wandering

About the mists and the rains?

Among the alpine crests

And mountains’ crystal streams?

A Chinese mountain man

Treks up the steep defiles.

And with him follows close

His pupil short of breath.

They walk among the pines,

Which rise from every crag.

The rustling of the world

Is soundless at such heights.

They climb the lofty peaks,

Tread worlds above the clouds.

“Peasant and sage alike

Climb mountains such as these,”

Declared the mountain man,

Then walked into the mist.

His pupil followed close

Behind, without a word.

The rustling of the world

Is soundless at such heights.

They climb the lofty peaks,

Tread worlds above the clouds.

David Gosselin is a poet, translator, and linguist based in Montreal. He is the founder of The Chained Muse poetry website and the founder of the New Lyre Podcast. His first collection of poems is entitled Modern Dreams.

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