I. The Early Motion

    The poet stands at the centre of the universe
contemplating the Enigma. He draws sustenance
from the masterpieces of the past.
    Studying the four seasons as they pass, he sighs.
Seeing the inter-connectedness of things,
he knows the many ways of the world.
    He mourns the leaves torn away by the cruel hands
of autumn; he honours the fragrant tender bud of spring.
    Autumn frost sends a shudder through his heart;
summer clouds can make his spirits soar.
    He learns to recite the classics; he sings
in the clear fragrance of old masters.
    He explores the treasure of the classics
where form and content join.
    Thus moved, he lays aside his books and takes
the writing brush in hand to make this composition.

II. Beginning

    Eyes closed, he hears an inner music;
he is lost in thoughts and questions—
    His spirit rides to the eight corners of the universe,
his mind a thousand miles away.
    And then the inner voice grows clearer
as objects becomes defined.
    And he pours the essence of words,
savouring their sweetness.
    He drifts in a heavenly lake,
he dives to the depths of seas.
    And he brings up living words like fishes
hooked in their gills, leaping from the deep;
    And beauty is brought down like a bird
on an arrowstring shot from passing clouds.
    He gathers his words & images from those unused
by previous generations; his music comes from
melodies unplayed for a thousand years or more.
    The morning blossoms bloom;
soon the night buds will unfold.
    He sees past and present commingle; he sees
the whole Four Seas in the single blink of an eye.