As if gathering together,
                                   the peaks of the ranges.
As if raging,
                the waves on these banks.
Winding along
                      these mountains and rivers,
the road to the T’ung Pass.
I look west
                & hesitant I lament
here where
                 opposing armies passed through.
Palaces
           of countless rulers
           now but dust.
Empires rise:
                 people suffer.
Empires fall:
                 people suffer.