Response To Night At the River
This is my translation of a Chinese poem and my own modern-day reply
Night at the River
Tang Shigu
Lonely autumn on the river
Fishermen’s lights dot the night
Lift my head to see the moon tip faint gleam upon the trees
Shore birds startled by the shimmering waves
Soon tuck their heads again in sleep
Cold dew clings damp and keeps the fireflies from flight
My response to Tang Shigu’s Night at the River
The fireflies live in books
The fishermen gone, pleasure boats trace shining lines through city lights
arranged in rows, blocks and sheets
with scant place for moonbeams, even full
Our birds know only darkness trimmed
Ignore electric glow and neon flash
Only autumn stays the same, damp and grey
With fading colours, naked trees
This constancy of the heart’s lonely sigh
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