A HUMBLE POEM

A HUMBLE POEM

by Zhang Zuogeng

The inexplicable

tiny

eye of a needle that lets a camel walk through,

the camel that looks like a small tumble weed

will now enter my eye.

The earth that shudders under the wheelchair,

the rain’s glitter that falls through the air undetected,

those sobs that faintly ripple between the fingers,

the tender bud unaffectedby the cold spell in spring…

The meteor shower

that slid by and caressed my cheeks,

the inexplicable

tiny

bristles of spring wheat that brushed against my heart…

— each of them a grain of sand that built the pagoda 

my humble and tenacious life.

Things infinitesimal,

smaller than a second,

but when I hold them all,

I feel larger than the universe.

When I gather all of their lightness,

I feel all the things that make up my life —

Therefore, I bend

like a sheaf of wheat.

About the poet:

Zhang Zuogeng, a native of Jingshan, Hubei Province, now resides in Yangzhou. He embarked on literary creation in the mid-to-late 1980s, primarily focusing on poetry. In recent years, he has also ventured into writing essays and literary reviews. His works have been published in major newspapers and periodicals across China. Some of his poems have been included in various anthologies, and parts of his works have been translated and introduced overseas. He is the recipient of the 2012 Annual Poetry Award from Poetry Periodical and the Bronze Award of the First Jin Di Poetry Award. He once participated in the 24th Youth Poetry Conference hosted by the editorial department of Poetry Periodical.