This poem can be read horizontally (left to right, right to left) or vertically (top to bottom, bottom to top). It was originally written in Chinese and MediaGlyphs.
What follows is a literal translation in English with some explanatory notes.
| go | death | lose | life | (gone death, life is lost / lost life, death goes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| life | come | life | restore | (life comes, life is restored / restored life, life comes) |
| lose | death | start | death | (lost death, death [re]starts / death starts and death is lost) |
| death | restore | life | return | (death restored, life returns / life's return restores death) |
| (gone life, death is lost / lost death, life goes) | (death comes, death is restored / restored death, death comes) | (lost life, life [re]starts / life starts and life is lost) | (life restored, death returns / death's return restores life) |