Poem
Yi Sha
Exchange
in Nässjö, in a park by a lakea black headscarf fails to wrap away her beauty—
the Arabic woman on the swing
as I approached her
she spoke to me
in English
I misunderstood
under the impression that she was telling me to go away
that she wanted this idle
suspicious-looking character
to get away from her this instant
as I hesitated
I made sense of the last part
of what she was saying
she was asking me
whether I wanted a turn on the swing
offering
to get off the swing for me
how I wanted to walk over
and give her a push
so that the Arabic woman
on the swing
would go a little higher
but after thinking it over
I gave up on the idea
© Translation: 2004, Simon Patton
EXCHANGE
© 2002, 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
Close
Exchange
in Nässjö, in a park by a lakea black headscarf fails to wrap away her beauty—
the Arabic woman on the swing
as I approached her
she spoke to me
in English
I misunderstood
under the impression that she was telling me to go away
that she wanted this idle
suspicious-looking character
to get away from her this instant
as I hesitated
I made sense of the last part
of what she was saying
she was asking me
whether I wanted a turn on the swing
offering
to get off the swing for me
how I wanted to walk over
and give her a push
so that the Arabic woman
on the swing
would go a little higher
but after thinking it over
I gave up on the idea
© 2004, Simon Patton
From: Yi Sha shixuan
From: Yi Sha shixuan
Exchange
in Nässjö, in a park by a lakea black headscarf fails to wrap away her beauty—
the Arabic woman on the swing
as I approached her
she spoke to me
in English
I misunderstood
under the impression that she was telling me to go away
that she wanted this idle
suspicious-looking character
to get away from her this instant
as I hesitated
I made sense of the last part
of what she was saying
she was asking me
whether I wanted a turn on the swing
offering
to get off the swing for me
how I wanted to walk over
and give her a push
so that the Arabic woman
on the swing
would go a little higher
but after thinking it over
I gave up on the idea
© 2004, Simon Patton
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