Flower scent lines the road, under the horse’s hooves;
the plain blue gown exchanged, he comes home in brocade.
The whole street cranes to see him, and to envy —
his name, in bright ink, on the Wild Goose Pagoda.
The deadline you missed was the crowd’s deadline, not the opportunity’s. Doors reopen for the prepared latecomer more often than the punctual admit. Register, retake, resubmit — this cycle scores experience over youth.
Read late as a thinned field: the crowd’s schedule expired, not the chance — better odds for the real thing now. The fortune favors the arrival after the gates.
The window everyone missed stays ajar: diligence done, the entry is legitimate. This cycle scores experience over youth.
Apply to the thing with the age limit — preparation outranks the calendar, and the exam reopens for the ready. First place is not reserved for the punctual.
Resubmit the expired application this week — with one paragraph on what you’ve learned since.
