Changsha

Alone I stand in the autumn cold On the tip of Orange Island, The Hsiang flowing northward; I see a thousand hills crimsoned through By their serried woods deep-dyed, And a hundred barges vying Over crystal blue waters. Eagles cleave the air, Fish glide in the limpid deep; Under freezing skies a million creatures contend in freedom. Brooding over this immensity, I ask, on this boundless land Who rules over man's destiny? I was here with a throng of companions, Vivid yet those crowded months and years. Young we were, schoolmates, At life's full flowering; Filled with student enthusiasm Boldly we cast all restraints aside. Pointing to our mountains and rivers, Setting people afire with our words, We counted the mighty no more than muck. Remember still How, venturing midstream, we struck the waters And waves stayed the speeding boats?