Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
Waiting for the bus
I’m waiting for the bus
Many busses pass by the station
They go to different places
But there is no bus to take me where I want to go
I am still waiting, from winter to spring
Nobody cares about the people waiting for the bus
They walk, or they run
I wait from dark till dawn
Trees hibernate and wake up,
So also do the birds
Did humans change in thousands of years?
Only a few stars have awoke
I don’t know the distance to the place I want to go
I keep waiting for the bus.
Anna Keiko China
Translation by Germain Droogenbroodt
Sunrise of hope
The light of dawn
erases the traces of the night
relentlessly, time goes on flowing
although I wish it would stop
like a picture fixed by the camera’s lens
because as valuable like fruit in a tree is life
Like the moon ascending at night
so you are, my love, whatever happens
wherever you are, I keep you in my heart
since I am in love with you my world has changed
because two hearts found a home of tenderness
sunrays play on the heartstrings of love
lighting up the dawn of hope.
Anna Keiko, China
Translation Germain Droogenbrood
AN EMPTY GLASS
The cup full of spring water was in sight
It is a part of my body.
I tried to drink it,
But when I tried,
The glass was empty.
Where did the water go
In no time?
Is existence
No more than a glass of water?
It’s a mystery, it’s confusion.
What happened?
Yesterday, I was here at the same time
And filled the glass.
Would the water not have disappeared
If I had remained here?
Was my mind trapped in the glass
Or…?
Anna Keiko, China
English Translation: Germain Droogenbroodt – Stanley Barkan
Written by Anna Keiko
Translated in English by Iuliana Pasca
Preface
underneath the profoundly asleep earth,
among illusory constructions of reality
in the heavy rhythm that knocks at the gate of history
time dissipates darkness, the dawn breaks
fragments of memories unite into one image
portraying the people from thousands of years ago
they had never seen before
the soul rising from the ruins
lightning stimulates the sleep hormone
the words sprout from the roots of the trees
the branches raise their eyes to the sky
the tears from above soothe the dry throat
insomnia brings about disorder
sleepwalk spreads like clouds
on the edge, people seek faith,
the swan isolates, the sea roars.
the wheel of time loses direction
fierce winds swirl the calm waves
the dark flow of purple rain floods the newly sprouted flowers
the dike is no longer on the shore
the sea is no longer in the sea
the pleasures of life create wings of light
lush branches and leaves grow from rotten logs
postmodernism indicates a bright period
the white sheet inscribed with yellow and red symbols
like barren lands sprinkled with saliva and salt
millennial expressions permeate ink and paper
the profound words awake from the drawers on the walls
the eyes in the tombs frightfully stare
the trembling hand reaches into the library in the afternoon sun
dusk and dawn go on
July should be the most beautiful period
July should be the most beautiful period
however, the reinforced concrete is too thick and cold
separating the fortress from nature
green leaves fall off; flood washes down the building
the typhoon keeps hitting the doors, windows, and hearts
a monstrous sky
as Poseidon raised the death matrix
what is behind the flood? humanity, calamity
who could answer, where is the water going?
innocent birds get shot when, naturally, fly in the sky
a rabbit walks and gets caught, then gulped down into the belly
the humbleness of the hunter, far from God’s sight,
turns into a monster with empty eye sockets that stretch out their claws
catching the wind, killing birds, rabbits, ants,
killing the cicada that sings in August
although you’re having the spirit of Ulysses
you face the hidden dark illusion
like a horrible COVID mutation
if so, do not panic
an insect flutters gently
in the air, in an unknown place, wilfully getting into the lungs
is the world misled by light-sensitive glasses?
the moon condones the burning of the green field by the sun’s virus
since the sky has no pupils,
sooner or later, humankind will fall into chaos, an excited specter
will gather the evil winds and destroy all things
under the dark clouds, behind the lair.
who bewitched the breeze to carry out an evil spirit?
days of trials, fireworks that burn books,
a tremendous evil that shelters from the light
in front of the bright world
wrapped in a cloak, covered in a veil
that’s a sign of the doomsday looking back at the horizon, am I right?
one must know,
the wolf nature does not embrace tenderness for just one full meal
it is not because love was forgotten that the forest got destructed with delight
it is the evil nature of the dark cloud
seeing the darkness in the dark
bizarre hurricane, the roar of
sewage from loss dams
emitting toxins as it rises from the brewed firedamp
I only wear a mask
for circumventing the coronavirus
Sight may not be real
sight is not a solid perception
in the smog of our existence, woods swallow the steam,
the vitality of the earth, the glittering figure of a child
repeating countless years of existence and love
loud music ravings, bone flute, ocarina*
burning in the wings of time
living condition deciphers history
you or the unknown mountains birth tall trees
earth rises from the mysterious waters
you witness a slender seed bursting out of a stone’s fissure
a leaf flies towards the sunlight, a single word breaks the glacier
covertly returned, meditating on evil and justice
decaying rose leaves its body and entrusts its love to the spirit
angel, what do you think of this?
do you know the world? your presence –
ever-changing colors and moods
a match creates tragedy in a forest
a transient subversion of the century is unable to reach
a new leaf exhales the miracle of life
a loud thunder howls, sending out deadly threats
a wildflower shows the most innocent smile
a sudden disaster, fear, obstacles
everything seems far and near, nerve force,
wilderness no longer contains flowers, snow is no longer pure white
the earth that gave birth to all things offers gentleness
love, blueness creates new words, dawn breaks
new air, the kingdom of dew echoes lives
without telling the reason for existence
people who fight with the soul, forget the “Sphinx”
dusk evokes the emptiness in countless dreams
growing green fields, smelting in daylight
mausoleum emits flashes
at this moment, you fly, leaving the core of life
writing a soul poem for Liuquan
Early morning on November 17, 2020
*Notes:
1. Both the Jiahu Bone Flute and Tao Xun (Ocarina) are the oldest musical instruments in China. The bone flute has a history of more than 9,000 years, and the Tao Xun (Ocarina) has a history of more than 6,000 years.
2. In ancient Greek mythology, a sphinx is a monster with wings, a human face, and a lion body. It was commissioned by Hera to sit on a cliff near the city of Thebe, blocking passers-by and using the riddles taught by the Muses to ask them questions, and those who did not answer correctly would be eaten by it.
Anna Keiko is a Chinese poet and writer. Founder, President&Editor in Chief of ACC Huifeng International Literature Club.
With 19 international poetry awards honored, she has been invited to participate in multiple important international poetry festivals. In 2023, the Cross Cultural Exchange Association of the United States awarded her a medal and certificate, recognizing her significant contribution to world poetry. In 2020, she was recommended as one of the candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Anna Keiko is a Chinese poet and writer. Founder, President&Editor in Chief of ACC Huifeng International Literature Club. Representative(China) of ITACA International Poetry, Column Consultant of Overseas Edition People’s Daily&Overseas Literature, and Director of China Youth Writers Association. Her poetry has been translated into 37 languages, and she has published over 2000 poems in over 50 countries and over 500 newspapers and magazines. With 19 international poetry awards honored, she has been invited to participate in multiple important international poetry festivals. In 2023, the Cross Cultural Exchange Association of the United States awarded her a medal and certificate, recognizing her significant contribution to world poetry. In 2020, she was recommended as one of the candidates for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
