Nirvana Poetry
Encounter
Yu Xiaozhong
Translated from Chinese by Ou Shilin
Rising at dawn, I walk along the bank.
Cool wind blows joyfully
like old debts being cancelled.
Coming across are three women photographers
excited about a kayak.
A man in a kayak sailing on the open river
above the waves, in their words, " looks romantic".
You may imagine that their lenses will ignore the huge cargo ship
moving stably like an elderly.
On the lawn adjacent
I witness another scene on my own.  
A snake drifts by
slowly to a small tree on the roadside.
It does looks on
before twisting across the cement path.
Having entirely lost its refuge, the creature squeezes
into the stone base of a small house, right under my eyes.
I know it's also from the river, yet I am surprised to see myself
being so calm as an on-looker.
I do not throw a stone on it
for I might have been in the belief that should you kill a snake,
it would appear in its death
in your dreams.
2018-06-17
About the author:
Yu Xiaozhong is from Hubei province. His works appear in many major Chinese literature magazines and anthologies.
Translated from Chinese by Ou Shilin
Rising at dawn, I walk along the bank.
Cool wind blows joyfully
like old debts being cancelled.
Coming across are three women photographers
excited about a kayak.
A man in a kayak sailing on the open river
above the waves, in their words, " looks romantic".
You may imagine that their lenses will ignore the huge cargo ship
moving stably like an elderly.
On the lawn adjacent
I witness another scene on my own.  
A snake drifts by
slowly to a small tree on the roadside.
It does looks on
before twisting across the cement path.
Having entirely lost its refuge, the creature squeezes
into the stone base of a small house, right under my eyes.
I know it's also from the river, yet I am surprised to see myself
being so calm as an on-looker.
I do not throw a stone on it
for I might have been in the belief that should you kill a snake,
it would appear in its death
in your dreams.
2018-06-17
About the author:
Yu Xiaozhong is from Hubei province. His works appear in many major Chinese literature magazines and anthologies.
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Encounter
Encounter