Bamboo and Rock

by Zhen Banqiao

Refuse to surrender
Their place atop green mountains.
The bamboo root among the rocks
And though the rains slash
And the winds howl, they remain firm.
No blast, though the four corners
of the compass shriek, can subdue them

By: Zhen Banqiao (1697-1765, a poet and painter, Qing Dynasty)
Translated by: Wu Keming
Edited by: Rodger Martin