Stephen Levine: "An Echo of Wang Wei's Reply to Vice Magistrate Chang"

Growing old I love the quiet that used to
disturb me. I have distance on my life.
The boast and pity of self-regard
have fallen somewhat behind.
Heading home, the home I carry with me,
I settle into the clouds. On the mountain
I sit quietly in a sage meadow
visited by the same bees that make lovers
of flowering bushes.
I become part of the golden comb hidden
in the hive humming with delight.



"An Echo of Wang Wei's Reply to Vice Magistrate Chang" by Stephen Levine, from Inquiring Mind, Fall 2010.
 
Photography credit: Unknown (originally color).