the road in the clouds

When people look for the road in the clouds 

The cloud road disappears 

The mountains are tall and steep 

The streams are wide and still 

Green mountains ahead and behind 

White clouds to east and west 

If you want to find the cloud road 

Seek it within

***

The higher the trail the steeper it grows 

Ten thousand tiers of dangerous cliffs 

The stone bridge is slippery with green moss 

Cloud after cloud keeps flying by 

Waterfalls hang like ribbons of silk 

The moon shines down on a bright pool 

I climb the highest peak once more 

To wait where the lone crane flies

***

Old and sick, more than one hundred years 

Face haggard, hair white, I’m happy to still live in the mountains 

A cloth covered phantom watching the years flow by 

Why envy people with clever ways of living?

~ Han Shan