Wen Fu 4: “Ekstasis” [文赋四] by Lu Ji [陆机]

It's all the amusing matters
That sages admire without bounds.
Writers find their way through the void --
Knock on silence to find its sound.
Silk scroll messages from afar,
The bard's words surge forth from the heart.
Words and ash grow to overflow --
Thoughts transcend depths to become art.
Flowery fragrance pungently sprawls;
Plants shoot forth verdant greenery.
The brush winds swirl to whirlwinds
Clouds climb above the academy.

Note: I previously posted other translators’ (Barnstone and Chou) version of this poem as The Joy of Words @ https://berniegourley.com/2024/12/31/the-joy-of-words-by-lu-ji-w-audio/

Original poem in Simplified Chinese:

伊兹事之可乐,固圣贤之所钦。
课虚无以责有,叩寂寞而求音。
函绵邈于尺素,吐滂沛乎寸心。
言恢之而弥广,思按之而逾深。
播芳蕤之馥馥,发青条之森森。
粲风飞而猋竖,郁云起乎翰林。

Be Water [Free Verse]

The floating feather
that eludes my grasp
isn't haughty or gleeful.

It just rolls, slips, glides,
and is gone.

The Dance [Free Verse]

What force dances one 
into this lovely state?

Light & ecstatic,
Blissful but calm.

Each breath a drug
that sends delicate
shimmers rippling
through the universe.

What force, indeed?

Beyond Eye & Mind [Kyōka]

a bare tree,
beside the stream,
sent leaves to the sea:
how far did they get?
"beyond eye & mind."

To the Sea [Haiku]

a leaf speeds over
the falls; is trapped below,...
bobs to the surface.

Willows [Haiku]

willows dangle
over flowing waters:
reaching not touching.

The Slow Flow [Haiku]

teal mountain stream
flows past rock's fluid striations,
proof flow can be slow.

The Flow Slows [Haiku]

seated on the wall,
beside the rushing creek,
the world slows.