Farewell to a Lofty Monk

 
Liu Changqing (709-785)
 
 
A lofty cloud has met a common crane,
But how to live together in this land?
Don’t stay out here, though filled with fertile hills,
So many know this place, like grains of sand.
 
 

Chinese   送上人 劉長卿   孤雲將野鶴 豈向人間住 莫買沃洲山 時人已知處

Pronunciation

Money’s freed you, fish, from knife-cut trials,
A story that’ll fill all fish and fowl with gratitude.
So, Bon Voyage! The Yangtze swells for countless miles,
Go swim at ease to peaceful latitudes.


Original Chinese poem by Dou Gong