Jungfrau, My Dear
by Yong Chin Chong

In her a great depth of longing,
wearing her lily-white monk’s robe,
she has been waiting for countless years.

Too long you waited!
Too long you stood!
And searching for you
I became a cloud wandering,
a wave flowing around the mountain.
You, my dear,
skirted the base of the Alps, your home,
unfailingly day and night
during the four seasons.
You embraced the
Spring wind,
Fall rain,
scorching Summer and
freezing Winter.

While preserving your chastity,
you survived for so many years.
Winds,
clouds,
starlight,
snow and rain
passed by to tempt you.
O, the Virgin’s hair has gone white!

At last, I come to you.
To see you, I climb 3,454-meters.
But you, Jungfrau my love,
drop a foggy veil of exhausted anger
from the long wait for this man
seven decades old.

Holding the fire of love,
I turn back.
The cold sound of rain hits the car window,
and I believe it is your footsteps!

I am sorry,
so truly sorry.
Your long wait for me
left perpetual snow in your heart.
I love you,
so I stretch out my fingers
to seal you.
And I leave you in tears.

Farewell, I will come again.
Oh my Dear!
Oh my Love!
Jungfrau.
  
*Jungfrau means 'A Virgin'. The highest peak of this sacred mountain
of the Alps is 4,158-meters high, which is the highest in Europe.