Zhuangzi once said, "You cannot speak of ice to a summer insect, for it is bound by its season." This ancient wisdom reflects a profound truth about the human condition: we are often bound by time, circumstance, and the limits of our own experience. Yet humanity also possesses a unique gift-the courage to look beyond the immediate, to explore the unknown, and to imagine worlds beyond the confines of the present moment.
We look upward to the stars, outward to the horizon, inward to the quiet depths of the soul. Poetry becomes a vessel for this longing - a way to wander across the river of stars even while our feet remain on earth.
Adrift Upon the River of Stars is a collection of poems born from this spirit of reflection and exploration. Each poem seeks to capture the fleeting beauty of life, the tenderness of longing, and the quiet yearning of the human heart. They are rooted in the heritage of Chinese poetic tradition, where ancient rhythms and symbols meet the pulse of modern life. They explore nature's beauty, the passage of time, the reach of love, and the eternal mysteries of existence.
These verses wander between the intimate and the infinite: from the delicacy of passing moments to the grandeur of the starry heavens. They explore the brevity of life, the persistence of love, and the mysteries that lie within silence and dream. In their own way, they are small stardust set adrift on the vast river of stars, carrying fragments of thought, feeling, and imagination across the expanse of time and space.
This collection is an invitation to pause and to listen-to find, within these poems, a moment of stillness amid motion, a glimpse of clarity within transience. As you journey through these pages, may you discover reflections of your own heart and perhaps a gentle reminder that even in a fleeting life, dreams can sail endlessly through the starry sea.