659 | An empty glass | Anna Keiko, China

AN EMPTY GLASS

The cup full of spring water was in sight
It is a part of my body.
I tried to drink it,
But when I tried,
The glass was empty.
Where did the water go
In no time?
Is existence
No more than a glass of water?
It’s a mystery, it’s confusion.
What happened?
Yesterday, I was here at the same time
And filled the glass.
Would the water not have disappeared
If I had remained here?
Was my mind trapped in the glass
Or . . . ?

Anna Keiko, China

Translation: Germain Droogenbroodt – Stanley Barkan

The poem An Empty Glass won the Guido Gozzano Prize for Literature in Italy in 2020