Stopping at Peiku Mountain

Stopping at Peiku Mountain
Wang Wan

(from Poems of the Masters: China's Classic Anthology of T'ang and Sung Dynasty Verse, translated by Red Pine (Bill Porter); Copper Canyon Press, 2003, pp 104-105)

My route goes past blue peaks
where riverboats ply green water
the current is smooth the shores are wide
the wind is perfect for hoisting a sail
the ocean sun rises in the traces of night
the river spring starts inside the old year
how shall I sent a letter home
tied to a goose bound for Loyang


From Red Pine's helpful comments on this poem:

Wang Wan (ca. 690-740) never held high office but was known for poetry even as a youth.  The title of the poem designates a transportation hub where spring starts so much earlier it reminds the poet how far away from home he is.   "During the Han dynasty, an emperor once shot a goose and found, tied to its foot, a letter written by an official being held against his will by the Huns.  Wild geese have been used ever since as the mail carriers of the hopelessly separated." (p. 104)