Clear Bamboo Ridge, Wang Wei & Pei Di (Wangchuan Collection #4)

[lnhammer]

Hardwoods reflected in empty winding:
Blue-green waters ripple and swirl.
I secretly enter Shang Hill path—
Even the woodcutters do not know.

    A clear stream that’s both winding and straight,
    Green bamboo thick as well as deep.
    One track goes through, a mountain path:
    Singing, I walk towards the worn hill.

斤竹岭

檀栾暎空曲，
青翠漾涟漪。
暗入商山路，
樵人不可知。

    明流纡且直，
    绿篠密复深。
    一径通山路，
    行歌望旧岑。

The exact trees named in Wang’s first line are obscure, but seem to be sandalwood and goldenrain. Wang’s 曲 winding can also mean song (IDEK), which Pei uses in his last line to undercut the secret sneaking.

(The next poem-pair is Deer Enclosure, set in the mountains they’ve started towards.)

---L.