| The Chinese Travelogue | (1986)
If you could dull its perspicuity, free it from chaos, limit its gleam,
liken it to a grain of dust, then it would seem to exist clearly.
| | Lao-Tse |  |
6
I shall only see
the pilgrim in his bright white raiment,
what can we do, where can we go?
I shall only see the white raiment, the old shoulders.
It would be better if my eyes were stone
and my heart water!
I shall only see
what happens to a man –
I would walk after him in tears.
I would walk as far as he did,
with an unhurried pace.
Richard McKane
***
6
Just as soon as I’d see
a traveler brightly clad, in white –
what can we do, how can we escape?
Just as soon as I’d see
white clothing, old shoulders –
better that my eyes were made of stone
my heart of water.
Just as soon as I’d see
what happens to a man –
I’d follow him, weeping:
wherever he’d go, I’d go, walking
with the same measured walk.
Andrew Wachtel | |
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