The Bridge and the Gorge

The Bridge and the Gorge

When you go far into that country where I lived
there is a bridge atop a hill;
 a bridge spanning across a deep gorge.
and connecting the two ends of a cleft hillside,
and if you peer down cautiously
you will see the gorge and the winding river.
And far above, you will hear its message,
murmured in deep undertones
why the bridge has to be made by man
and why it's forever the nature of water to divide
the lands and hills into two.


Watching the gorge from this height
is the safest way
to talk to the waters
and hear its secrets revealed.
Water arrested, water insulted,
water subjected to humiliation,
is water disgorged
in torrents of fury.
Imperial Man, stay away from this fury;
do not encroach upon its heart.
Cold though it seems,
cool to the fevered brow in distress,
you will be taken unawares
if you run a dagger into its heart.