04
Exchanging Greetings With The Wind
Something you can love but never name,
it goes wherever it goes, like a noble sage,
fills grasses and trees with lovely sounds.
We set out wandering without any purpose,
and then, letting our lone boat drift askew,
we’re midstream on our backs, gazing into
sky and exchanging greeting with wind.
Offering a toast to water spread boundless
away, I savor this indifference we share,
and all the way home, along both rivers,
clouds and water shimmer into the night.
— Su Tung-p’o, translated by David Hinton in Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry Of Ancient China, New Directions Publishing
Thank you for calling The Botanarchy Hotline. The Botanarchy Hotline is medicine disguised as a poem, delivered through the portal of your phone. It’s a ham-radio séance between you and the living Earth, for those ready to be bewildered back to life.
It is said that in spring, the Bluegreen Dragon Of The East blows the eight winds into the earth and brings forth a thousand flowers. It can also be said that the Eight Winds are the invisible forces animating the entirety of creation. But don’t take from me. Here’s what Tang Dynasty Poet Li Qiao has to say about it:
Untying three Autumn leaves,
Blossoming February flowers.
Thousands of feet of waves,
Ten thousand bamboo trees sway.
How can one invisible force manifest itself in such a dazzling array of forms? To understand the pluripotent possibility of wind, we must first understand this season that it’s blowing through.
(Cont’d below)
Book Rec: Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry Of Ancient China, David Hinton
☏ Episode 1 — March 20, 2025
The Best Time For A Poet Is When Spring Is New
☏ Episode 2 — April 3, 2025
This Wild Joy At Wandering Boundless And Free
☏ Episode 3 — April 17, 2025
The Secret Names Of Mountains
☏ Episode 4 — April 30, 2025
Exchanging Greetings With The Wind
☏ Episode 5 — May 3, 2025
The Dwelling Place Of The Red Pine Genie
☏ Episode 6 — May 28, 2025
Resisting Tyranny With The Oak Trees
☏ Episode 7 — June 11, 2025
I ♡ Unnoticed Plants That Grow Beside A Stream
☏ Episode 8 — June 26, 2025
Relaxing All Day On A Peak
(833) Eco-Poem
A low-fi ritual broadcast from another dimension of care.