Iron-Corridor Gorge (Du Fu) Poem by Denis Mair

by Du Fu
(Translated by Denis Mair)

A wanderer leans into blasts of wind
Dwarfed at the edge of a precipice,
A hidden corridor runs through the chasm
Past cliffs that loom like massed iron.
Along a path that brushed the azure vault
He descends into the earth's gashed mantle.
Dwarf bamboos as far as eye can see,
With ageless snow embedded in the sky.
Long trek through this brooding gorge,
Cheerless view along a glum journey,
By a stream where ice is wedged in rocks
I ride a horse that jolts me to the bone.
My fragile life is up against hidden arrows
Bandits are far from under control.
Three years of drifting place to place,
Looking back still makes my guts churn