What a shame—the chaos of the city!
Straight up, I climb the tower, into the clouds.
Beneath a solitary tree, an old monk
returns in the sunset;
the whole mountain is filled with roosting birds
announcing the end of day.
I'm startled at first by Buddhist chanting
piercing the void in serenity,
and—hidden in the sound—the peal of the temple bell
heard in deep trance.
Then, suddenly, I'm amazed that the night
is illumined by the Age of Stars:
now the gods must be driving off the armies of demons.