Inscription Translation

Artist's inscription (a rhymed prose (fu 賦)), signature, and 5 seals: [2 seals at end of painting]: Tu wu sou; Kao gu zheng jin. 1 Inscription (fu 賦): Looking at this gentleman [Xiang Shengmo], how carefree is he;/ When he isn’t carefree, he is longing for his friend./ Impatient is his longing, the latter is far, far away./ When he dreams of visiting him, he also fears not being able to return./ Is he like a pine, or a juniper? They are said to last long./ Does he reside by a cliff or in a grotto, perhaps not unlike the two [peaks named] Mt. You?/ With hills or rivers intervening, he indeed is far, far away./ As the distance is beyond reach, can we communicate in spirit?/ Cut off by a river or a mountain pass, we can’t even see each other./ In vain we seek to talk and laugh, but we are not together./ Shall we ask the fish: how deep is your enjoyment [of water]?/ Or the flying birds: to which marsh will you land?/ Or the monkey and the crane: who are your kindred souls?/ Or the deer and the hog: which of you will live longer?/ Or the white cloud: whence do you come?/ Or the flowing stream: to where shall you flow?/ Or the fisherman and the fuel gatherer: who rules over this land?/ Or the grass and the plants: in whose fields do you grow?/ Or the Spring and Autumn: why does the world become so cruel?/ Or the people in general: how long would we last?/ Or the sun and the moon: whence come the light and the dark?/ So have you ever met the Old Man of Wutu at that time?/ In the wuzi year [1648], at the beginning of the twelfth month, I happened to do this painting, so did the inscription. Xuqiao, Xiang Shengmo [3 seals]: Tu wu sou; Xiang shi kong zhang, Wei sang si wen.