US-27 Rain after Class at Presidio 19990806
The drizzle is misty, the clouds stretch long,
The water in the bay reflects the dim sky.
It is the early autumn weather, comfortable and refreshing,
I hope the withered grass will turn green,
So as to see the beautiful scenery of Yanshan Mountain
Are the leaves of the Western Hills red now
I once climbed to the Ghost-frustrating Peak
Carving our names on a rock was more than twenty years ago.
An the old classmate now lives in the capital as an official,
There has been no news for many years.
I laugh at myself, past the year of 40,
Still a wanderer overseas.
Life is short, where is the day
To spend with a wife and innocent child.
Forget about it.
Going back and looking at my room.
I see messy bedding and scattered books
In a rare hot summer of Monterey
The first time since I came here
I waded into the sea of the bay
The cold pierced me like a spear
The wharf dike softened the waves
When there was no wind blowing
The lazy ocean rolled in slowly
Wetting my shoes while I gazed standing
The water was cool as a November pool
Where I once swam late in the year
Of course I was not like a Moscow fool
Who swims in the dead of the winter there
It was the nice feeling of crystal cold
That made my body and spirit clean
Once again I tasted the salt of days old
And remembered the seas I was in
Swimming solitarily in the bay
I watched human flesh baking in the sun
Covered with sand, or exposed to solar ray
And children having lots of fun
Afterwards I went to the Wharf
Among tall people I was like a dwarf
People were enjoying a sunny weekend
A chill ran from my top to my end
The Turks were dancing like in the year before
But the face of a long-legged Turkish girl
Was, despite my search, not seen any more
Who could dance angelically, what a pearl
Tides come and go, nothing unusual
But human changes are once for all
People you like, known or not
Once gone, there’s not another shot
I like the ocean for its eternity
It’s insensitive to all the the woes
And joys of humanity
Whatever is there, it just sinks or floats
I wish to come back to swim again
Oblivious of all the worldly change
Buried in ocean, cool and sane
As happy as a fish in free range