NIGHTTRIP THROUGH BANGDONG by Zhao Jiapeng

NIGHTTRIP THROUGH BANGDONG

Zhao Jiapeng

The Almighty has drawn his black curtain.

The forest hills stand above the world,

letting their pet mountain mist out to play.

Passing through Bangdong, embracing the night's wind,

a world not unlike the hollow of a skull,

we scurry like rats.

The omnipresent fog presses on us,

it hastens our steps like a dog's sudden barking,

plunging us into abject misery.

Below us is the mighty Mekong River,

it flows south with a determined focus, yet we want to believe

its current existence is but an illusion.

For an instant, I almost burst out crying:

the trees on the side of the road look so wooden,

much like my folks back home.

I want to embrace them, like holding on to what is good.

About the poet:

Zhao Jiapeng, a native of Zhaotong, Yunnan Province, currently resides in Kunming. His poems have been published in literary journals including Poetry Periodical, Stars, Bianjiang Literature, Chinese Poetry and Dianchi. He won the 1st Guanghua Poetry Award of Fudan University and participated in the 5th "New Wave" Poetry Festival hosted by People's Literature.