# Forging Ahead: The Unyielding Resilience in Bai Hua's "The Ship"

> When facing an opponent a thousand times stronger than oneself, only clarity and courage can offer salvation.

- Author: Charliefoo
- Published: 2024-09-05
- Last modified: 2024-09-05
- Canonical: https://foo-z.com/en/blog/others3/
- Category: Inspiration from Afar
- Tags: Poetry, Chinese, Ship, Fate, Encounter

![](https://blog-1259751088.cos.ap-shanghai.myqcloud.com/20250104160029110.png?imageSlim)

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I have had many such strange encounters,
From heaven to hell in the blink of an eye:
Every lovely, gentle wave
Became a suddenly rising, then collapsing mountain.
Every drop of seawater changed its face,
Just moments ago so beautiful, so azure;
Whirlpools entangled with whirlpools,
I was thrown into the sky and then plunged into the abyss...

At that time, I even thought of ending my life,
Before me stretched a boundless sea of bitterness;
Abandoning hope was like abandoning the helm,
Under brute force, one could only remain silent and lament.

Only today do I have the right to laugh at yesterday's self,
Ashamed of the leaf-like panic of yesterday;
How many years were wasted,
The ship's hull pierced by reefs time and again...

A thousand times casting nets into the vast ocean,
Only then capturing a sliver of life's experience,
Only then suddenly realizing,
Ah! The truth was so plain all along:
Do you wish to sail?
Then surely a thousand demons and monsters will rise to block your way;
Brutal oppression is their game,
Creating ruin their sole talent.

Destined, I am to meet them often,
For my name is Ship;
Facing an opponent a thousand times stronger than myself,
Only clarity and courage can offer salvation.

Fear only blinds oneself,
Blindness only exaggerates the devil's ferocious grimace;
Perhaps my appearance is more terrifying than theirs,
When I stake my life and charge forward without hesitation!

As long as I have one intact keel,
I will never sail into a sheltered harbor;
I place my life upon the journey,
Letting courage decide the width and length of the road.

I am completely free now,
The bow becomes the iron shovel that buries them;
I leap rhythmically upon the waves,
As if swinging on a giant swing.

Even if they finally tear me apart,
Into broken pieces of wood:
I will not sink, never!
I will still spin upon the crests of the waves.

Those who come after will recognize me in the fragments,
Future poets will sigh with emotion:
"Here lies a happy soul,
It was once a ship sailing forward..."

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