Cloud Diviner Poem by Bai Hua

The cloud diviner scurries by
scanning from heights
In his eyes, the dense dusky mist
grows gold, geometry and palaces
In a poor quarter, the west wind turns abruptly
A hero embarks on a thousand-mile journey
The cloud diviner can see
his agitated grass sandals and toga
Farther valleys merge into one
the chimes of bells, faint and few
Two children are sweeping the pavilions
The cloud diviner faces an empty twilight
Auspicious clouds unfold
A quiet shriveled master
spits fire, brews elixir on his own
The cloud diviner sees patterns in the stones
Wind and rain agree in village days
A vegetable field, a flowing stream
the crispy green stays unchanged here
The cloud diviner has left for the next summit

Translated by: Sze-Lorrain