To a Taoist Hermit

Today   at work in the White House

I felt a sudden chill in my heart

you who live alone on the mountain

gathering wood beside a plunging stream

will be boiling white stones for food

I want to bring you a gourd of wine

to cheer you in this time of rain and wind

but the empty mountains are vast

falling leaves fill the paths

how could I find my way again

                                    Wei Ying-Wu

                                    T'ang Dynasty

                                    translated by David Sen, Dick Russell
                                     revised March 2017, Dick Russell

                                    Published in Chapman Chinese Issue, Scotland, 1972