Remembrance
These innocent messengers
wearing plain summer clothes
sitting here, by my side
smiling at me
revealing subtly their old, shy breasts
That once ardent voyage
that ignorant fatigue
all stop in this foreign moment,
a kindly and teary moment
Age, so much obeisance
local Mandarin…..(is it necessary?)
gentle, lustful dentures
a gust of fire
I concentrate my energies and can see
the afternoon breeze
blowing across gazes that meet
Such melancholy
such frank benevolence
and romantic gaieties of old times
Ah, these innocent messengers
ceaselessly on the move
coyly knocking on the door
harboring love and admiration
arriving in my life of so few experiences
(October 1988)
Ten Nights Ten Nights
Ten nights, ten nights in a row
Autumn is near, leaves turn yellow
your teacher is thinning away
my books, my body
O, my, my, my
my every hour, every second
my stern left eye ticks in place of a heart
Ten nights, all things heavy have gone to sleep
Ten nights, spring and panther after sexual intercourse
the north and the south all asleep
Ten nights in a row, I lie on my bed
Ten nights in a row, ten nights oppress my heart
Ten nights, ten nights
the journey of ten nights surveys from afar
the youth of ten nights has forgotten the ideals
Ten nights, ten nights
I bring my shame to your center
both hands down, asking for your forgiveness
Ten nights, I hear another song
Ten nights, I hear trees
crashing on all trees
thundering in the sky I name
(September 1989)
Education
I’m spreading word about your reputation —
a child who stole three cakes
a child who couldn’t idle away an afternoon
O, child from the olden times
cakes twenty years ago
That afternoon determined my future
an afternoon I couldn’t idle away
Parents do not age, do not sing
busy chatting, busy with health care
and hitting the bones of children
Prodigal son nourished by loneliness
a son destined to sing
a thinker of winter who refuses teachings
with only bones remaining
(Winter 1989)