Mount Skyland Ascended in a Dream — A Song of Farewell (Li Bai, Mount Skyland Ascended in a Dream — A Song of Farewell)

Travelers from the sea speak of Yingzhou, a misty expanse too vast to seek. The people of Yue tell of Mount Tianmu, its clouds and mists appearing and disappearing, perhaps still to be seen. Mount Tianmu stretches across the sky, its peaks surpassing the Five Sacred Mountains, overshadowing Red City Mountain. Mount Tiantai, forty-eight thousand zhang high, leans southeast as if bowing to Tianmu. I therefore long to dream of a journey to Wu and Yue, flying overnight across Mirror Lake beneath the moon. The moonlit lake casts my shadow, escorting me to the Shan Stream. The place where Xie Lingyun once stayed still remains, with clear rippling waters and the mournful cries of monkeys. I don the wooden clogs of Xie, personally ascending the azure ladder. Halfway up the mountain, I see the sunrise over the sea, and from the sky comes the crow of the celestial rooster. A thousand cliffs and ten thousand turns make the path uncertain; captivated by flowers, I lean against rocks, and suddenly dusk descends. Bears roar and dragons chant, shaking the rocky springs, making the deep forests tremble and the layered peaks quake. Dark clouds loom as if heralding rain, and misty vapors rise over the rippling waters. Lightning flashes and thunder rumbles, splitting the mountain peaks. The stone gate of the immortal cavern bursts open with a thunderous roar. The vast blue sky stretches endlessly, the sun and moon illuminate a terrace of gold and silver. Rainbows serve as garments, the wind as steeds; the cloud-dwelling immortals descend in droves. Tigers play the zither, phoenixes draw the chariots, and the immortals line up like a field of hemp. Suddenly my soul is startled, and I awake with a long sigh, only to find my pillow and mat have lost the mist and clouds of a moment ago. The pleasures of this world are just like this—since ancient times, all things flow east like water. When I part from you, when shall I return? For now, I shall let my white deer graze among the green cliffs, and when I wish to travel, I will ride it to seek famous mountains. How can I lower my brows and bend my waist to serve the powerful and noble—such a thing would never let my heart be glad or my face serene.