THOUGHTS AFTER SNOW IN HSIANG-YANG

My long-ago life rises into lone thoughts

and drifts windblown—too much for me.

Shoreline sounds echo night restlessly.

Cold lamplight thick with snow glistens.

Three years—a dream so bright and real,

thread stretching away into the furthest

distances. Dawn light on Ch’u Mountain:

no need to climb those wide-open heights.