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Poem

Yang Lian

LONGHUA TEMPLE

being chewed by the crocodile structured the eve of this poem
in dreams the terrifyingly real    temple court-
yard    at the water’s edge on the mountain peak
only if the hand’s lotus still opens like that day petal by petal
emptiness    our arrival half plum half blood
needs only the cold of a vow to stay
in the incense burner    the fragmentary life of a camera
twisted moss twists the stone’s eyeball again

the eve of finding this poem
skeleton hugging skeleton    strolls behind the silence of the bells
the direction of our surmise settled in a bud
plums drift down to blend with perfumed blood
bloodstains leak out from behind the knee    from numbers one
                                                                                              [to seven again
only to believe what comes back    enjoying in memory
flashbulbs    periscoping the newly-formed flesh
we vaguely remember the pleasure of sex with crocodiles was
                                                                                               [lovely and sore

TEMPEL VAN DE DRAKENPRACHT

door een krokodil gekauwd worden vormde de vooravond van dit gedicht
de in dromen angstaanjagend echte        tem
pel        aan de waterkant op een heuveltop
zolang de lotus van de hand zoals op die dag bloemblad na bloemblad wordt afgebroken
leegte        onze aankomst was half pruim half bloed
meer dan de kou van een gelofte is er niet nodig om te blijven
in de wierookbrander        het fragmentarische leven van een camera
telkens opnieuw vlecht het mos de stenen oogbol

het vorige leven van de vondst van dit gedicht
skelet omhelst skelet        kuiert aan de achterkant van het klokgelui
onze vermoedens vestigen zich in een knop
pruimen dwarrelen neer en mengen zich met welriekend bloed
bloedvlekken die onder de knie verschijnen        opnieuw van een tot zeven
alleen wie gelooft in terugkeer        overdenkt
flitslampjes        periscoop naar het pas gevormde vlees
we herinneren ons vaag dat het genot van seks met krokodillen mooi was en ook pijnlijk

Close

LONGHUA TEMPLE

being chewed by the crocodile structured the eve of this poem
in dreams the terrifyingly real    temple court-
yard    at the water’s edge on the mountain peak
only if the hand’s lotus still opens like that day petal by petal
emptiness    our arrival half plum half blood
needs only the cold of a vow to stay
in the incense burner    the fragmentary life of a camera
twisted moss twists the stone’s eyeball again

the eve of finding this poem
skeleton hugging skeleton    strolls behind the silence of the bells
the direction of our surmise settled in a bud
plums drift down to blend with perfumed blood
bloodstains leak out from behind the knee    from numbers one
                                                                                              [to seven again
only to believe what comes back    enjoying in memory
flashbulbs    periscoping the newly-formed flesh
we vaguely remember the pleasure of sex with crocodiles was
                                                                                               [lovely and sore

LONGHUA TEMPLE

being chewed by the crocodile structured the eve of this poem
in dreams the terrifyingly real    temple court-
yard    at the water’s edge on the mountain peak
only if the hand’s lotus still opens like that day petal by petal
emptiness    our arrival half plum half blood
needs only the cold of a vow to stay
in the incense burner    the fragmentary life of a camera
twisted moss twists the stone’s eyeball again

the eve of finding this poem
skeleton hugging skeleton    strolls behind the silence of the bells
the direction of our surmise settled in a bud
plums drift down to blend with perfumed blood
bloodstains leak out from behind the knee    from numbers one
                                                                                              [to seven again
only to believe what comes back    enjoying in memory
flashbulbs    periscoping the newly-formed flesh
we vaguely remember the pleasure of sex with crocodiles was
                                                                                               [lovely and sore
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
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