Poem
Yi Sha
Common Knowledge
on the streetin a towering summer heat-wave
a young girl hops
with her hands over her ears
her behaviour is a little odd
there is something beautiful about her
oddness and a so-called beauty
this gives people
the feelings they want
but they pay no attention
to the cause and the source
of her actions
but I know
I have mastered such common knowledge
as a boy
on the way home from the swimming pool
the same movements
would help me get rid of
any last remaining water in my eyes or ears
hotly it would trickle away
and I would then be able to hear the surrounding world again
just like the young girl here before me
I’m sure she’s feeling pretty good
right now
hopping with her hands over her ears
on the street in a towering summer heat-wave
such common knowledge as this
has helped me find a way into a poetry of essentials
© Translation: 2004, Simon Patton
COMMON KNOWLEDGE
© 1998, Yi Sha
From: Yi Sha shixuan
Publisher: Qinghai Renmin Chubanshe, Xining
From: Yi Sha shixuan
Publisher: Qinghai Renmin Chubanshe, Xining
Poems
Poems of Yi Sha
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Common Knowledge
on the streetin a towering summer heat-wave
a young girl hops
with her hands over her ears
her behaviour is a little odd
there is something beautiful about her
oddness and a so-called beauty
this gives people
the feelings they want
but they pay no attention
to the cause and the source
of her actions
but I know
I have mastered such common knowledge
as a boy
on the way home from the swimming pool
the same movements
would help me get rid of
any last remaining water in my eyes or ears
hotly it would trickle away
and I would then be able to hear the surrounding world again
just like the young girl here before me
I’m sure she’s feeling pretty good
right now
hopping with her hands over her ears
on the street in a towering summer heat-wave
such common knowledge as this
has helped me find a way into a poetry of essentials
© 2004, Simon Patton
From: Yi Sha shixuan
From: Yi Sha shixuan
Common Knowledge
on the streetin a towering summer heat-wave
a young girl hops
with her hands over her ears
her behaviour is a little odd
there is something beautiful about her
oddness and a so-called beauty
this gives people
the feelings they want
but they pay no attention
to the cause and the source
of her actions
but I know
I have mastered such common knowledge
as a boy
on the way home from the swimming pool
the same movements
would help me get rid of
any last remaining water in my eyes or ears
hotly it would trickle away
and I would then be able to hear the surrounding world again
just like the young girl here before me
I’m sure she’s feeling pretty good
right now
hopping with her hands over her ears
on the street in a towering summer heat-wave
such common knowledge as this
has helped me find a way into a poetry of essentials
© 2004, Simon Patton
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