Wandering in July

July, back to fir woods in the south
crossing paths with a jackdaw
and a drop of blood on grass tip. Whatever in passing—
plum rain season, an understatement—can’t restrain
a body’s temperature . . . I weep by the well late at night
and listen to voices
of wild geese behind the mountain. Is what I pass by
some transient
eternity? I arrive again at this place, but am no longer
of that time . . . How’ve you been
How’ve you all been . . . May
my kin and friends
deep in the mountains
in my rootless body, continue to grow
safe and sound in the universe—

七月漫游

七月，回到南方的杉树林
遇见了寒鸦
和草尖上的一滴血。什么东西走过去了
梅雨期，轻描淡写，留不住
一个身体的温度⋯⋯我在深夜的井边哭泣
听见了山后
大雁的声音。我经过的
都是些短暂的
永恒？我重又抵达这个地点，却已不再是
那个时间⋯⋯你还好吗
你们还好吗⋯⋯但愿
群山深处
我的亲人和朋友呵
在我居无定所的形骸里，继续生长
在万物中安然无恙——

 

A Mountain Hut

Wind whacks the fir-bark roof
and I bow my head low. Outside my house, grass and leaves
arch over fences
and sprint up the mountains. In the wind, time
or season
slips my mind. Palm clenches
and loosens, an intertwined
destiny—I remember how I pulled through May
and made a promise under the stellar sky
I have returned . . . Again and again
in the backyard
I plant seeds, mistakes, love

山上的小屋

是风，在拍打着杉树皮的屋顶
我总是埋着头。屋子外面，许多草叶
越过了栅栏
在山中奔跑。风声里，我总是
忘记了时间
或者季节。那握住
又松开的掌心，纵横交错的
命运——我记得，我有过五月
和蓝色星空下作出的诺言
我曾经归来⋯⋯一次又一次
在后院
埋下了种子、错失和爱

—

Born in 1972 in Lishui, Zhejiang Province to an impoverished family, Ye Lijun worked as a secondary school art teacher and arts administrator for intangible cultural heritage. The author of three poetry titles, Survey (2005), Passing by Thousands of City Lights in Black Night (2009), and Flower Complex (2014), she has received several literary honors in China, including the 2007 “Poetry Tour” Award. Currently, she resides in her native city Lishui and serves as an editor of Lishui Literature.

Fiona Sze-Lorrain is the author of three books of poetry, most recently The Ruined Elegance (Princeton, 2016), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and one of Library Journal’s “Best Books 2015: Poetry.” She is also a zheng harpist and a widely published translator of contemporary Chinese, French, and American poets. Her translation of Yi Lu’s Sea Summit (Milkweed, 2016) was shortlisted for the 2016 Best Translated Book Award. She lives in Paris.

—

Copyright © Ye Lijun. English translation and bios copyright © Fiona Sze-Lorrain, 2017.

photo credit: Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com) The lonely tree – Garda lake, Italy – Fine art photography via photopin (license)