Island on the Yangtze

Here we see an island on the Yangtze where nobody lives. The water is endless and mountains rise forever above it. There used to be a road along the cliff, but it has collapsed. Not even monkeys or birds stay here among its tall trees. A passenger boat works its way up the river against the current, its oars singing. It seems to make no headway. It almost disappears in the mist in the shadow of the mountain, like a comb in a woman’s long hair. She’s soft, sinuous, and persistent, and she’s in love with the mountains that dip below and hold her up.