The Big Running River

By Guangzi
Translated By Wang Ping

Translated from the Chinese

The flowing river, running a thousand li
I’ve been standing on its shore, in a daze

Time rushes forward, centuries also flow
Only waves, sand, and mud are left behind

I stand on the shore for the passing humans
I flow endlessly for the big river

The running river, between sky and earth
Standing still, as if it had never moved an inch

Notes:

This poem is part of the portfolio “Wind Crossing Grasses: Poems from Poems from China’s Dragon Rivers.” The folio is an excerpt from the forthcoming anthology of the same name, translated and edited by Wang Ping, with a co-introduction from Gary Snyder (Kinship Poetry Press, 2026). You can read the rest of the folio in the July/August 2025 issue. 

Source: Poetry (July/August 2025)