Meditations (There are red oranges in the south)

Meditations (There are red oranges in the south)

In the southland there are tangerine trees,

green forests that survive the winter.

Is it because the earth there is warm?

No—they have a heart that endures the cold.

They could be offered to honored guests,

but alas, the barriers are too deep and heavy.

Fate lies only in what one encounters,

and the cycles of change cannot be traced.

People only speak of planting peaches and plums—

does this tree provide no shade?