Poetry International Poetry International
Gedicht

Shang Qin

Moonlight—In Mourning of Someone

An eyewitness recounts: “At the beginning I was simply stunned by
what he was doing, when I saw him walking above the tips of silver-
grass swaying in the breeze, wondering if he wasn’t indeed Bodhi-
dharma! He raised his cane high, shoved both of his arms outward
and hard, as if he were roaring; maybe he thought he was Moses
parting the Red Sea. Though the stream was shallow, there were
caverns left by illegal excavations. But I didn’t hear any sound of
water; it was early morning on the sixteenth day of the month, the
moon was especially full, the sky was very blue, so there was no
reason why he could not reach the other shore.”

Neither his clothes nor even his shoes were wet. According to the
autopsy report, he was drowned by moonlight.

MOONLIGHT—IN MOURNING OF SOMEONE

Shang Qin

Shang Qin

(China, 1930)

Landen

Ontdek andere dichters en gedichten uit China

Gedichten Dichters

Talen

Ontdek andere dichters en gedichten in het Chinees

Gedichten Dichters
Close

MOONLIGHT—IN MOURNING OF SOMEONE

Moonlight—In Mourning of Someone

An eyewitness recounts: “At the beginning I was simply stunned by
what he was doing, when I saw him walking above the tips of silver-
grass swaying in the breeze, wondering if he wasn’t indeed Bodhi-
dharma! He raised his cane high, shoved both of his arms outward
and hard, as if he were roaring; maybe he thought he was Moses
parting the Red Sea. Though the stream was shallow, there were
caverns left by illegal excavations. But I didn’t hear any sound of
water; it was early morning on the sixteenth day of the month, the
moon was especially full, the sky was very blue, so there was no
reason why he could not reach the other shore.”

Neither his clothes nor even his shoes were wet. According to the
autopsy report, he was drowned by moonlight.
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
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère