Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
A Green StreamWitter Bynner and Kiang Kung-hu, trans.
From “Poems by Wang Wei”
From the Chinese
From the Chinese
I
Borne by the current of a green stream
Rounding ten thousand turns through the mountains
To journey less than a hundred li.
Rapids hum on scattered stones,
Light is dim in the close pines,
The surface of an inlet sways with nut-horns,
Weeds are lush along the banks.
Down in my heart I have always been clear
As this clarity of waters.
Oh, to remain on a broad flat rock
And cast my fishing-line forever!