TUESDAY POEM

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“Only a fool underestimates the power of a dream.  In these seas we bob in the wake of dreams.”  Anon.

One Day
Sheng Xing

I am walking down a road that
cannot erupt with lava
towards a morning sun that
cannot fall from the sky
I run into an ugly-looking woman
I cannot fall in love with
in her hand she is carrying a dead fish that
cannot be brought back to life
she uses filthy language that
cannot be beautiful
at this moment I
cannot grow a pair of wings
and fly up into the clouds in the sky
I go home to a house that
cannot collapse
and run into my father whom I
cannot get along with
at this moment, I’m too big
I cannot turn myself into a rat
and quietly creep into my hole in some corner
tonight I lie down on my bed that
cannot turn into the open sea
at this moment I
cannot die

but I have a dream:
the sun falls to the earth
lava erupts from the ground
I fly up into the sky
kissing the sweet lips of a woman
the fish she carries in her hand is singing hymns
my father kneels down beside a ruin
and says, pointing at the sky
“what a great man he is”
next morning I wake from my dream
I cannot believe that it was real

Translation: Simon Patton

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