AT THE OUTER EDGE By Li Qingsong

AT THE OUTER EDGE

By Li Qingsong

I'm determined to stay here at the margins, on the outer edges,

wandering off the mainstream, thrown into uncertainty,

in exile like the restless clouds

that have retreated from the sky, paths and fields.

All that remain are ruins, weathered landscape, and deserted mines.

Boundless silence in the wilderness,

through the dying sun the hawk's watchful eyes.

The first snow can’t rein in the adolescent or the cubs.

Their tender looks float out of the mountain pass.

Snowflakes twinkle on their eyelashes, warm blood raging and flowing.

Even the overnight blizzard will find its home ground.

On their animated faces, each permanent tooth will have its day to take place.

Some things are buried, so are names,

until they reveal their original essence.

An air so clear and unique to land’s end

blows on me until I feel like an elf or sprite!

I house a ferocious drive and a tender heart, 

with milk replenished by winds and blizzards,

I nurture the beasts and the weaklings in me.

The eagles take the world to a new cliff,

the snow lotus raises me to a new height.

That untouchable place! I speak through a shaman— 

There have been thirty-nine blizzards, I was reborn after each snow.

About the poet:

Li Qingsong, a female crossover writer, embarked on poetry creation in the 1980s. She has published five poetry collections including The Posture of Falling and Selected Poems of Li Qingsong. She participated in the 18th Youth Poetry Festival, won the 5th Chinese Youth Poet Award, and served as a writer-in-residence at Capital Normal University. She started novel creation in the 1990s and has written seven full-length novels such as Flower Street, Broken Heart and The Great Western Migration, many of which have been listed on book rankings several times. She once had a personal column in Southern Weekly and has published several prose collections and fairy-tale collections. In recent years, she has taken up drama creation, with poetic dramas, musicals, Peking operas and modern dramas staged. Besides, she has created many film and television works. She now resides in Shenyang and works as a professional screenwriter.