A HEART SWIMMING IN SOLITUDE By Sea of July (QiyuedeHai)

A HEART SWIMMING IN SOLITUDE

By Sea of July (QiyuedeHai)

A drowned man returned from the night

to touch her fingers, to teach her to play

the river that was not there.

Eyes float in the dark,

and the heart swims in solitude.

She wants to cry for the water’s sorrows,

and laugh for its happiness.

“I can no longer keep up

with the white goddess, let me submit to my own magic.”

A voice digs deep into her.

She takes his place and looks out the window

where the moon rises, plain-looking like a white dot.

The river’s waves are meaningless, too, hardly a eulogy.

All night she could not leave the dark spell,

but she loves the water’s lacework

far more than the snake deep in the river.

—How beautiful and quiet it is!

When she was cast ashore like a big fish,

she continues to search for the mysterious water.

About the poet:

QiyuedeHai, whose real name is Li Yun, is a member of the China Writers Association. She participated in the 22nd Youth Poetry Conference and was a student of the 21st Advanced Training Class for Young and Middle-aged Writers at the Lu Xun Literature Institute. She has published three poetry collections, and her works have been included in various anthologies.