Gushan Temple is
to the north, Jiating pavilion west,
The water's surface now is calm, the bottom of the clouds low.
In several places, the first orioles are fighting in warm trees,
By every house new swallows peck at spring mud.
Disordered flowers have grown almost enough to confuse the eye,
Bright grass is able now to hide the hooves of horses.
I most love the east of the lake, I cannot come often enough
Within the shade of green poplars on White Sand Embankment.
The water's surface now is calm, the bottom of the clouds low.
In several places, the first orioles are fighting in warm trees,
By every house new swallows peck at spring mud.
Disordered flowers have grown almost enough to confuse the eye,
Bright grass is able now to hide the hooves of horses.
I most love the east of the lake, I cannot come often enough
Within the shade of green poplars on White Sand Embankment.
-Bai Juyi A Visit to Qiantang Lake in Spring
We all have our
favorite places. Places that we can go to and feel safe, places that make us at
peace. It seems that these places are not that hard to find when we are very
young, and surprisingly not that hard when we grow old. It is that time in
between when these places seem elusive; not that they actually become harder to
find, they are there. But in our haste we overlook them or fail to look for
them at all.
