Sand-Sifting Waves Song "The Yangtze River"

何威廉

Sand-Sifting Waves Song

The Yangtze River

By William He

Light reveals black mists,
Water mirrored with mirage ahead,
Riding high crest of colorful waves.
The Savior songs to his corrugated white reflection,
With special notes and thunderous roaring tones.
Nearing the crevices,
A moment one glimpses Circe's hand.
Midway between earth and heaven,
The falling blind ripples break in the air.
Pillowing on the tides,
Always there this river which is never still,
Like the moon's ballad from dusk to dawn.

The fabled Red Cliff.
Vomiting the wrecks on its inhospitable bank.
Boundless flood in the ebb and flow,
Yellow Crane Tower,   
Floating upon the sapphire floor.
Who can flirt with the pigment of his times,
Landscapes freezing frame-by-frame.
A panorama from the Unconscious then.
In the astringent chuckle of rocks,
An unfathomable stream here.

Silence of senses magnifies the call of the wild.
Following with the lens,
Silhouette against the luminosity well.
The melting hour,
Trickling down from bulrush cupped palms.
Looking for the history,
Then come the men with heavy eyes.
A past-tense imagery,
The shadows dancing under the corrugated bluff.


浪淘沙慢

长江

作者：何威廉

雾图开，
霓符蹈咏，
两水分色。
潮射湖高潦溢，
巫山峡断裂隙。
尚不觉、
迷离神女侧。
湍流挟、
仰漏青幂。
似枕近、
牛矶暮云卧，
栖霞月华漆。

赤壁。
峭崖抱景疏隔。
念浪逐雕甍，
骑黄鹤、
见瓦蓝比栉。
愁树远匡庐，
吴苑姑息。
聚焦镜拾。
对石峰突兀，
虚玄参择。

影逐心滩招灵魄。
左右顾、
画移像出。
辨真幻、
汀葭心恍惑。
问江左，
几处沧桑。
惜弱柳，
天词象纬宽心脉。

Notes:

“The Yangtze”: The Yangtze, or officially Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains and flows 6,300 km in a generally easterly direction to the East China Sea. It is the seventh-largest river by discharge volume in the world.

“The Savior”: The Savior (2014) directed by Robert Savo. After several years of providing religious instruction to diverse groups in the eastern Mediterranean, protagonist is wrongfully executed by political authorities on a Friday but rises from the dead the following Sunday.

“Crevices”: The Three Gorges, world famous as the most scenic section of the navigable reaches of the Yangtze, and the location of the Three Gorges Dam. They form a series of natural and cultural attractions on a Yangtze Cruise between Chongqing and Yichang on the middle reaches of the Yangtze.

“Circe”: In Greek Mythology Circe was a powerful witch. Her magical powers turned Odysseus’ men into swine when they landed on Aeaea on their way home from Troy. Aided by Hermes, the messenger god, Odysseus was immune to Circe’s magic, restored his crew to human form, and gained the witch’s aid for the next part of his journey.

“Red Cliff”: The Battle of Red Cliffs is one of the most famous battles in the history of Ancient China. It is considered one of the largest naval battles in history. The battle eventually led to the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period.

“Yellow Crane Tower”: Yellow Crane Tower stands atop Snake Hill in Yellow Crane Tower Park of Wuchang District, Wuhan. It is the most famous attraction in Wuhan. The tower was first built during the Three Kingdoms Period in 223 CE. It was a watchtower for military defensive purposes and was destroyed several times in the course of history.

“The call of the wild”: The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903. The story opens at a ranch in Santa Clara Valley, California, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. He becomes progressively more primitive and wild in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. By the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization, and relies on primordial instinct and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild.