I come to Spirit Peak to gaze upon the sea,
At midnight rise and sit in the Sea-Viewing Pavilion.
The water's surface, dark and deep, lies somberly,
Six dragons hold the sun, not yet to heaven driven.
Then from Yang Valley light and aura start to spread,
Five-colored marvels change, beyond what can be said.
Great billows surge and seethe as in a boiling pot,
Dragons hide, fish startle, in this fearsome spot.
The golden crow ascends atop the Fusang tree,
Mists dissolve, fog clears, and brightness spreads to see.
A raging wind roars loud and tosses giant waves,
Like a hundred thunder-drums from hidden caves.
Crashing, flooding, they could shake the Five Peaks' might,
Scales and fins grind the earth, great whale and roc take flight.
Towering heights startle as valleys shift their place,
A snow-capped mountain, thousand-fathom, spans the space.
Foreign ships drift up and down, tossed to and fro,
Emerging, vanishing like duckweed on the flow.
Suddenly wind stills, all sounds of nature cease,
A smooth gold mirror lies, a silken band of peace.
Blue-green waves stretch deep and vast for miles untold,
Islands scattered like cups and pitchers, manifold.
Three rivers, five lakes are also great in size,
But seen from here, they're like a puddle in one's eyes.
Ryukyu, Srivijaya, Japan—these lands appear,
Faintly seen, their wooded shores in haze draw near.
Three fairy mountains clear and countable they stand,
Jutting below, with giant turtles to withstand.
Alas, the First Emperor did not come this way,
Laboring his heart, but seeking life to stay.
Though I am stranded here upon the sea,
This lodging place alone is worthy pride for me.
I'll build a thatched hut, refine the golden brew,
Await the ninefold cycle to make elixir true.
One day I'll sprout wings, transcend, and fly away,
Straight cross three isles, climb azure heights without delay.
If in later years old friends should ask of me,
Come visit at Penglai, in the immortal sea.