The absence of paths
Does not mean that I do not miss you;
The absence of starlight
Does not mean there is no warm affection;
The absence of tears
Does not mean there is no sadness in my heart;
The absence of wings
Does not mean there are no lies;
The absence of a final outcome
Does not mean there will be no deaths;
But this much is certain—
That without the Liangshan Mountains large and small
Or my race which is the Yi people
There is no likelihood for my mortal existence
As a poet