A Sad Tune from the Music Bureau

I sing a sad song when I want to weep,
gaze far off when I want to go home.
I miss my old place.
Inside me, a dense mesh of grief.
But there’s no one to go back to,
no boat across that river.
The heart is bursting, but my tongue is dead.
My guts are twisting like a wagon wheel.

translated by Tony Barnstone & Chou Ping