Issue #1 Winter 2002
Poppy Field
(Van Gogh: Field with Poppies, 1890)
by Xue Di
(translated by Wang Ping & Keith Waldrop)
 |
Summer
ripens across the land. Swallows transport
southern waters into the orchard Pomegranates
shine like foreheads full of thoughts Our
hosts lie supine in berries staring
at the poppy-covered sky
The
little animals are quiet left
paws crossed over right Quail
bob-white in their jars. Horses strike
fire near the house of white pines O
my life, take a break now hang
hunger on the poppy’s hook Sniff
fruit pits, squeeze a handful of soil See
the sharp flames on golden pears
Close
your eyes. Summer slips
into your sleep. As you wake hear
flowers chatter in the basket of the field See
endless sunflowers burning like a hundred horseheads spinning madly in the sun |
©1995 Xue Di
Vincent Van Gogh, Field with Poppies, 1890
Oil on Canvas, 71 x 91 cm
Xue Di was born in Beijing in 1957. He is the author of three volumes of
collected works in Chinese. In English translation, he
has published four books: An
Ordinary Day, Circumstances, Heart
into Soil, and Flames. His work has appeared in numerous American
journals and anthologies. Xue Di's work has been translated into English,
French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese. Since shortly after the Tiananmen
Square Massacre in 1989, he has been a fellow in Brown University's Freedom to
Write Program in Providence, Rhode Island. Xue Di is a two-time recipient of the
Hellman/Hammett Award, sponsored by Human Rights Watch.