Poem
Xi Chuan
Ark
One stormy night I will open by myselfThe lonely locked room beside me
I may find a candle-stub, a box of matches
A bolt of spiritual lightning to set me shivering
A stone sinks in the ocean five hundred metres off shore
The soul of a bird nesting in the cliffs is fervent and imperilled
Yes, the ocean is nearby, one stormy night
I will listen to the pounding of the waves and light the candle
Write life’s sun on the land
And the death-date of all things
But I am a young man walking towards the sea
After experiencing hardships I will be fully fledged
Three knocks on the door reverberate in my heart
The tide leaps onto the sandy shore like a great host of turtles
This night’s dagger, this flotsam from a seaborne ship
I pat the ancient ark, the bright moon hangs high
One stormy night I will open by myself
The lonely locked room beside me
© Translation: 2006, Tao Naikan and Tony Prince
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: Wild Peony, Sydney, 2006
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: Wild Peony, Sydney, 2006
ARK
Poems
Poems of Xi Chuan
Close
Ark
One stormy night I will open by myselfThe lonely locked room beside me
I may find a candle-stub, a box of matches
A bolt of spiritual lightning to set me shivering
A stone sinks in the ocean five hundred metres off shore
The soul of a bird nesting in the cliffs is fervent and imperilled
Yes, the ocean is nearby, one stormy night
I will listen to the pounding of the waves and light the candle
Write life’s sun on the land
And the death-date of all things
But I am a young man walking towards the sea
After experiencing hardships I will be fully fledged
Three knocks on the door reverberate in my heart
The tide leaps onto the sandy shore like a great host of turtles
This night’s dagger, this flotsam from a seaborne ship
I pat the ancient ark, the bright moon hangs high
One stormy night I will open by myself
The lonely locked room beside me
© 2006, Tao Naikan and Tony Prince
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: 2006, Wild Peony, Sydney
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: 2006, Wild Peony, Sydney
Ark
One stormy night I will open by myselfThe lonely locked room beside me
I may find a candle-stub, a box of matches
A bolt of spiritual lightning to set me shivering
A stone sinks in the ocean five hundred metres off shore
The soul of a bird nesting in the cliffs is fervent and imperilled
Yes, the ocean is nearby, one stormy night
I will listen to the pounding of the waves and light the candle
Write life’s sun on the land
And the death-date of all things
But I am a young man walking towards the sea
After experiencing hardships I will be fully fledged
Three knocks on the door reverberate in my heart
The tide leaps onto the sandy shore like a great host of turtles
This night’s dagger, this flotsam from a seaborne ship
I pat the ancient ark, the bright moon hangs high
One stormy night I will open by myself
The lonely locked room beside me
© 2006, Tao Naikan and Tony Prince
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: 2006, Wild Peony, Sydney
From: Eight Contemporary Chinese Poets
Publisher: 2006, Wild Peony, Sydney
Sponsors
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère