Subverse Aphrodesia

Discovered in a anthology of Chinese poetry bought for 50 cents this afternoon at a book sale. Dedicated to all those shaken by the passing funk. Feel it. Know it as it helps you know yourself. And then outgrow it.

Perhaps
--reply to the Loneliness of a Poet


Perhaps our hearts
will have no reader
Perhaps we took up the wrong road
and so we end up lost

Perhaps we light one lantern after another
storms blow them out one by one
Perhaps we burn our life candle against the dark
but no fire warms the body

Perhaps once we're out of tears
the land will be fertilized
Perhaps while we praise the sun
we are also sung by the sun

Perhaps the heavier the monkey on our shoulders
the more we believe
Perhaps we can only protest others' suffering
silent to our own misfortune
Perhaps
because this call is irresistible
we have no other choice

Shu Ting
Translated by Tony Barnstone and Newton Lin