A poem by Ye Hui translated from the Chinese by Dong Li
墓地
从村上看
墓地，安静灰暗
像前朝
只有刺莓艳丽
仿佛死去的嫔妃
旋风裹着黄叶
一段崩塌的
岁月，在梀树下
有越来越
深沉的恐惧，史官
虚弱，半躺着
一只乌鸦
停在枝头，它不知道
即使终其一生
棺木也不会打开，
命运
不会被揭示
而夜里
白色蔷薇依然开放
被一束冷淡的光
永远照亮
***
The Graveyard
Seen from the village
The graveyard, quiet and gray
Looks like a past dynasty
Only the thorn berries dazzle
Like dead concubines
A whirlwind wraps itself around yellow leaves
A period of days and nights
Collapsed, under the trophy tree
A terror grows
Deeper and deeper, a historian
Ailing, half lying
A crow
Stops on the branch, which doesn’t know
Even with a whole life
The casket will not open
The fate
Will not be revealed
And at night
White roses bloom as usual
Forever illuminated
By a ray of indifferent light