Load on My Mind
I have let the load on my mind
Fly to the blue sky
Gusts of gale leisurely rolling dark clouds
Are clustering around a lonely wild goose
I have written the load on my mind
On the curtains of the night
Plain and prosaic the wind is blowing slowly
Tonight the stars are twinkling as always
I have sent the load on my mind
To the palace of the Emperor of Heaven
The natural and unrestrained flower-like white clouds
Have unexpectedly transformed into drops of tears
I have used the load on my mind
To paint and dye the cold and indifferent Loess Plateau
The rosy sunrise and sunset glow all over the world
Can comfort my lonesome and solitary fences
I have sprinkled the load on my mind
To the ocean
Turbulent waves tumble and toss
Buoying up a ship of ten thous
and tons burden
I have planted the load on my mind
On the vast grassland
A gust of wind flattens the grass listen to the songs of a shepherd and the crisp, loud sounds of
a whip
Command and herd thousands of cattle and sheep
I have lost the load on my mind
In a mountain faraway
At the foot of the mountain are two rabbits
That snuggle up together leisurely and carefree
…
I have buried the load on my mind
On the bank of the Yellow River that has given birth to me and raised me
My fellow countrymen
Call my pet name again and again
Step Into Summer
With the sweet and sugary sentiments of the entire spring
Step into the full coolness of the summer, conserving
Open all the doors and windows
So that the gentle zephyr can come in
The leaves in the yard
Sway into surging green waves
I don’t know whether I should be cheerful
Or feel sad because of this
Those who are playing in the river are naked kids
Those resting family members at noon
Always in their somniloquence
Show their ardent caress and ceaseless love
The loner is me
With a series of wordless exclamations
Who can’t put down the thick book having been read tirelessly
And then with my eyes glaring with love
Quietly watch the myriad worlds
About the translator:
Chen Du is a Voting Member of American Translators Association and a member of the Translators Association of China with a Master’s Degree in Biophysics from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Master’s Degree in Radio Physics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. She revised more than eight chapters of the Chinese translation of the biography of Helen Snow, Helen Foster Snow – An American Woman in Revolutionary China. In the United States, her translations have appeared in Lunch Ticket, The Bare Life Review and River River, her essay was published by The Dead Mule, her poem has appeared in Levitate and her poetry chapbook will be published by The Dead Mule. She is also the author of the book Successful Personal Statements. Find her online at ofsea.com.
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