Journey Through Mountains: The Waterfall, Mastery and Details

By David Gosselin

“Twelve Views from a Thatched Hut, Detail Two” by Xia Gui (1195 - 1224)

The Waterfall

“So noisy are the towns and villages,” remarked
The sage as he and his young pupil made

Their way across the bustling thoroughfares,
Heading toward the mountains and the mist.

The boy, only accustomed to the sound
Of rustling towns and city happenings,

Half-listened as he looked ahead toward
The snowy mountains, so near, yet so far.

Rising up from the earthly surface to the sky,
Piercing the sprawling cloudscapes up above,

The glistening peaks arrested his young eyes,
Their crests adorned with all the elements:

The pristine snow and careless alpine winds,
A gentle frost and pines that fear no cold.

But back below and far from busy towns,
After trekking for many quiet hours,

They heard a faint and playful murmuring
Beckoning them toward the leaf-dimmed light:

Soon, deep amid the forest’s evergreens,
Solacing caves and gnarled untrodden paths,

They found themselves before a waterfall
Whose rushing cataracts and foaming floods

Somehow inspired in them the calmest thoughts.
“The truth, though men forget, is never lost,”

Said the sage as he and the boy sat down;
They watched the foaming floods rush on for hours.