A Poem Written Two Ways

For the Kunlun Mountains, the great mountain range of Asia

1. snow mountain: golden yellow flames (the first way)

In remote Hoh XilI once had this kind of experience:It was autumn and night was approachingI stood alone in the boundless wildernessThere was a snow mountain like a templeWhen I looked at it in the distance, respect and gratitudefor life welled up in my heartI didn’t actually feel cold; on that pure mountain peakwhite snow burned into golden flamesand my thoughts and desires were fadingEven though I couldn’t see that distantconstellation just then, how the illusions in the skyfall into the mother’s dark belly,my body and soul told mein this same moment, in this limitless space of the universe,I was perched in the center of this vast landI knew this was the final choiceWhen the tip of my tongue sings eulogies for the gods,the distant sea ceases its blue desire—We’re the true twelve sons of the snow mountainwho’ve just come back to life from the hero’s dirgeOnly this eternal realm of the sun,bird shadows, and the reincarnation of livescan make our memories eternalOn nights like this, keeping watch over the summit,myths glimmer with tranquil radianceNow I’m like a sacrifice,my cheeks streaming with tears, even though I have nothingbecause I’ve already promised to share all the maxims of my fatewith the dusk messengersI discover that while searching for a directionmy soul has passed through a valley, clear air,open fields, and through a free kingdomI see it, like a golden sacred eaglefinally reaching the entrance to humankind’s light

2. temple-like snow mountain (the second way)

The temple-like snow mountainis burning gold flames in Hoh Xil’s twilightI breathe autumn’s boundless open fields,see how distant constellations and illusions in the skyfall into mother’s dark belly

My thoughts and desires are fadingI know this is the final choiceWhen the tip of my tongue sings eulogies for the gods,the distant sea ceases its blue desire

We’re the true twelve sons of the snow mountainwho’ve just been brought back to life from the hero’s dirgeOnly in this domain of the eternal suncan bird shadows and the reincarnation of livesmake our memories eternal

Myths glimmer tranquil radiance on the mountain peaksNow, I’m like a sacrifice,my cheeks streaming with tears, even though I have nothingBecause I’ve already promised to share all the maxims of my fatewith the dusk messengers

I discover that while searching for a directionmy soul has passed through a valley, clear air,open fields, and through a free kingdomI see it, like a golden, sacred eaglefinally reaching the entrance to humankind’s light