Chronicles of Anyang: Affairs of the Heart
On the balcony over looking the Morning Garden of the Red Lotus, the Yellow Emperor sat in repose, Song Yi, his young bride, sat nearby. Their eyes drifted to the north and then back to one another. Their feet touched.
Song Yi: My Lord you are distant this morning. Are there troubles at court?
Li Po: Ah, my dove, no. All seems right with the world. Except I wonder about this course we have chosen.
Song Yi: How so?
Li Po: To look beyond our lands, to carry our prosperity to those who dwell across the hills or across the seas is, perhaps, a burden. It is our vision, but not theirs. It is to our glory and less of theirs. Would not our imposition be a burden to them? In the forests and fields the way of nature is a harmonious struggle working to find balance, a balance that will not last in spite of wisdom. Perhaps our part is here along the river as it flows fromthe mountains to the sea: Anyang, a well from which the tired and thirsty may draw sustenance on their dusty travels. A place looked forward to, but not to stay. This is my distraction.
Song Yi: My Lord, my sweet Lord. Help me loosen my robes and we will distract one another further as we ponder the mysteries of the fickle gods of our world who plant such thoughts in your mind.