Reaching the Hermitage

        At evening I make it down the mountain.
        Keeping company with the moon.
        Looking back I see the paths I’ve taken
        Blue now, blue beneath the skyline.
        You greet me, show the hidden track,
        Where children pull back hawthorn curtains,
        Reveal green bamboo, the secret path,
        Vines that touch the traveller’s clothes.
        I love finding space to rest,
        Clear wine to enjoy with you.
        Wind in the pines till voices stop,
        Songs till the Ocean of Heaven pales.
        I get drunk and you are happy,
        Both of us pleased to forget the world.