Month: April 2020

Abraham by Asaf Halet Çelebi

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Abraham
Topple the idols inside me
With the ax you hold
Who is the one
replacing the broken idols with new ones?

The sun shattered my icehouse
Those mighty blocks have fallen
Necks of idols are broken
Abraham
Who is the one
putting the sun in my house?

Nebuchadnezzar made the idols
of the beauties wandering in the hanging gardens
I am the one cuddles those timeless gardens
Beauties stayed with me
Abraham
Who is the one
breaking my head
seeing it as an idol?

translated by  Burak Tıraş

Bidding Farewell by Chong Chi-sang

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A single leaf falls in the yard.
Near my desk, crickets chirp sadly.
I know I cannot hold you here.
I wonder where your journey will take you.
My longing will follow you to where the mountains end,
As I seek you in my dream on a moonlit night.
When the spring river ripples green along the bank,
I beg you not to forget your promise to return.

translated  by Sung-Il Lee

Memory by Sowol Kim

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Hugging in my heart a dream,
hazy and traceless,
I lean like a child on the gate
and gaze at the sky where clouds pass.

I stand on tiptoe to reach the sky-rim
only to find no path for my dreams.
Clouds scud back and forth across the blue
that stays forever constant.

Like a root stirring with life,
like a faithful heart that never fails,
dreams will bloom in the thorny path of memory
as the green grass sprouts in the stony fields.

translated by Jaihiun Kim & Ronald B. Hatch

Yüeh-yang Tower by Li Shang-yin

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Wishing to disperse for once the sorrows of a lifetime,
I mount the Yüeh-yang Tower above the Tung-t’ing lake.
Over ten thousand miles I could have sailed in high spirits,
But alas, there are dragons who know how to upset the boat!

traslated by James J.Y. Liu

Remembering by Yuan Chen

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I daydream, melancholy at the windowsill—-
memories I will never tell—-

our passion in the late-night hours,
our tearful good-byes at dawn.

Mountains and rivers divide us,
and I’ve given up hoping for rain.

Divided, I dream of you today—-
I even embrace the pain.

translated by Sam Hamill

White Dress by Yuan Chen

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Light rain settles this white dust,
and her perfume penetrates thin walls.

Her jade-white body slips into a jade-white gown.
The embroidery is beautiful, but sad.

She blossoms like a pear against an ivory couch.
A silk blouse and green skirt

hang in the smoky incense of aloe.
Why do I waste time painting early morning clouds?

translated by Sam Hamill