Our days are short

Brief as the moon, wild as the wind

A Hard Road to Walk (4)
Helan Jinming

Don’t you see?
The moon in the clouds
Is full only briefly,
Then it wanes.
Don’t you see?
The wind in the forest blows far,
We can never be sure
What it means.
Together, then parted from family and friends,
No sooner than started, celebrations must end,
Wine all drained.
In the winter of life, how many stay by our side?
The mound and the cypress tree make us sigh:
Funereal green.

贺兰进明  行路难五首·其四
君不见云间月，暂盈还复缺。
君不见林下风，声远意难穷。
亲故平生欲聚散，欢娱未尽尊酒空。
自叹青青陵上柏，岁寒能与几人同。

---

The images here are well-worn, but powerful. The waxing and waning of the moon is an eternal symbol of the changeability of life. Our moments together, all too brief, end among the dark funeral mounds.