Seven Quatrain · Turning Forty with Aspirations

沐    风

By Mu Feng

    天启心畴香篆燃，

Heaven kindles the heart's fieldincense molds arise,

    沁烟蝉露欲澜悬。

Misty dew of cicadas hangs where desire lies.

    光阴一瞬皆成酿，

Each flash of time ferments into vintage wine,

    四十春倾永合涟。

At forty, love pours forth, a ripple that never dies.

作于2026年2月28日，海上怡趣堂。

Written on February 28, 2026, at Yiqu Hall by the Sea.

注1：2027年10月将至，我和太太将迎结婚红宝石日（结婚40周年）。遥想当年，四十年前我和太太在教堂相遇，二年后又在教堂举行了隆重的婚礼，是为天启。整诗我以“火、水、水火交融、水”等意象循环，喻四十年婚姻的淬炼与沉淀。诗以“火”字启幕，蒙天恩开启心畴，信仰之光启于心。时间如盘香，如香篆点燃生命之火。那缭绕的青烟与清露，恋爱时的纯净，命运的波澜“欲澜”悬于心头，开启了一场人生的淬炼之旅。四十年光阴“一瞬”，生命之酿、醇厚芬芳。全诗由抽象情感转化为“燃、悬、酿、涟”的可感状态如杯倾泻，我们由圣殿起始的一滴水，终成生生不息的永恒之涟。

Note 1: By October 2027, my wife and I will celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary—40 years of marriage. Reflecting on the past, we first met in a church forty years ago and held our grand wedding there two years later—truly a divine encounter. This poem weaves imagery of "fire, water, their fusion, and water again" to symbolize the tempering and sedimentation of four decades of marriage. It begins with "fire," as heavenly grace ignites the heart's field—the light of faith dawns within. Time resembles a coiled incense, a lit incense mold igniting the flame of life. The curling smoke and clear dew evoke the purity of courtship, while the "aspiring waves" of destiny hang in the heart, initiating a journey of refinement. Forty years pass "in a flash," yet life's vintage grows mellow and fragrant. The poem transforms abstract emotions into tangible states—"kindles, hangs, ferments, pours forth"—like a cup overflowing. From a single drop of water originating in the sanctuary, we become an eternal, ever-flowing ripple.

注2：平水韵【一先】仄起首押

Note 2: Rhyme scheme: Pingshuiyun [First Xian] with checked tones at the start and end.