《半山聽雨》 Rain Halfway Up the Mountain

Halfway up the stone steps, mist drifts across the mountainside

An unexpected shower gently brings my footsteps to a pause

Setting down my pack, I sit beside the wooden rail of an old pavilion

Watching rainwater stream down tiled eaves into a clear curtain of beads

Usually always hurrying onward, eager to reach the summit sooner,

Forgetting to pause and notice the green moss between the stones

Mountain wind crosses the bamboo grove, carrying earth and pine-needle scent

Slowing down a little makes heaven and earth feel wider still

Listening to the rain halfway up the mountain,

Letting a hurried heart settle gently into calm

Hearing a distant bell drift through layers of mist,

Dissolving the worries gathered too long upon the brow

Listening to the rain halfway up the mountain,

Watching grass and trees breathe quietly in the rain

Some unanswered questions need no immediate reply

Once the rain clears, the mountain path will show itself

Clench your palms too tightly, and not even the breeze can pass

Better to open both hands and catch a cool drop of rain

In a single lifetime, there are always more slopes ahead;

Being able to rest halfway is its own quiet reward

Listening to the rain halfway up the mountain,

Letting a hurried heart settle gently into calm

Hearing a distant bell drift through layers of mist,

Dissolving the worries gathered too long upon the brow

Rain falls on green hills, washing away the dust

Bell tones cross the water; grass and trees unfold at ease

Chasing neither the past nor asking of tomorrow

Sitting beneath the eaves, the heart is unburdened

As the rain softens, the clouds part on their own

The heart rests unburdened