Along the Pai–Medog Highway

An ageless butterfly flits past
The car threads through the jungle
Chinese and Tibetan scripts grow side by side
The Yarlung Tsangpo surges without end¹

Falling rocks are waterfalls made solid
Rumbling—the bravado of machines
Iron axe and phantom blade contend
The torrent vanishes, spirit-like, in the mountain’s belly

The peaks, white-haired
Embrace snow and kiss the mist
Warm vapors billow and spread
Looking back—no longer the landscape it was

Footnotes

1. The 67-kilometer Pai–Medog Highway runs from Pai Township to Beibeng Township in Medog County, southeastern Tibet. Its route passes through forest, gorges, snow mountains, and the Yarlung Tsangpo. ↩