Cold In The North ... Poem by Li Ho

Black sheen on one,
purpl' on each other side.
The Yellow Stream - all ice,
so fish and dragon died.
Tree barks, three foot - a script
of frost-cracked runes.
Hundreds of hundredweights -
cartloads on waters ride.

Frostwork aground - big coins
of silvery bloom.
Sword's blow will never wound
the dark sky's misty gloom.
Vying, river and sea -
ice floes in roaring flight.
A silent waterfall so still:
rainbow from jasper spume.

(transl. by A.W. Tüting)