As part of the United Verses 译站 project, I had the pleasure of working with chinese poet Zhou Haiming (周海明). One of his poems that really struck me was Abandon (废弃) which is about throwing away things you have written down. This is the line I love the most:
The whole poem:
Abandoning ideas embodies my struggle,
Unable to resist what is superficial,
Unable to prevent my neighbours’ judgement –
Them who just live to see the air around
While my old print sinks into the soil to decay,
Summer’s ghost breathing like a carp.
The city earth is looking for our wasted thoughts.
We are in the dark, and tomorrow also has a night,
But I rush though crowded days, working to get paid.
废弃的思想凝聚着挣扎
拦不住的抵制肤浅
顺便拦不住随处可见的邻居
随便居住的人们到处看见空气
悠久的打印垃圾 沉入泥土
夏季的幽灵开始比目鱼的呼吸
大地在城市中寻找废弃
我们从黑夜迎接盲目的夜晚
瞬间奔驰在拥挤的人从中思考就业
Pen Paper Pause 