DEW, Lo Ch’ing, Taiwan

DEW

They say
I should not dwell
In cold mountains so high
I should not work in the scorching gorges so deep.

They say
I should not hide
Secluded in my many different rooms
With my dead branches, fingers alike
Painting white clouds, dream fantasies
All over the floor, the walls.

But they don’t know
When darkness returns
From where I come.

Those many splendored clouds
Will silently float out
Hovering above the driest places
Transforming into sounds
Of intermittent showers.

Lo Ch’ing (Taiwan 1948- )
Translation: Nancy Ing

From: “China China“, Modern poetry from Taiwan
POINT Editions