Seal Script

Could you please find those stones carved
By Du Yu—the one he put
On the peak, the one he threw
In the drink? Who knows, he said,

If the floor of the stream won’t
Rise, and the peak in the clouds
Sink, one day? Best to be safe.
Carve one’s great deeds high and low.

But where did those carved stones go?
His name did last, and his ghost
Should be pleased with that, but where
Are the words he rose and sank?

They’re lost. If we had to guess,
They were too well known, like tombs
And mounds, hoards and chests of gold—
Dragged down, dug up, long since sold.

Fame is hard for you to keep,
For all the help we give you.
Carve our claims for you in steel;
More of you come and steal you.