Passing The Night At Headquarters

Clear autumn at headquarters,
wu-tung trees cold beside the well;
I spend the night alone in the river city,
using up all of the candles.
Sad bugle notes sound through the long night
as I talk to myself;
glorious moon hanging in mid-sky
but who looks?

The endless dust-storm of troubles
cuts off news and letters;
the frontier passes are perilous,
travel nearly impossible.

I have already suffered ten years,
ten years of turmoil and hardship;
now I am forced to accept a perch
on this one peaceful branch.*