Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Zhai Yongming

Thirst

tonight all the light is shining for you
tonight you are a small colony
that remains for a long time, melancholy seeping
from your body, with exquisite drops of water

the moon is like a clean, fragrant body
sound asleep, it gives off a seductive smell
a night is pressed on either side by two days
between them all, the dark circles around your eyes
stay joyful

what kind of clamour is piled up into your body?
inconsolable, one feels some substance taking shape
the walls in dreams blacken
so that you see traces of triangular overflow
the pores of the whole body open
ungraspable meaning
stars in the night sky shine with inhuman shine
while your eyes are loaded with
the sadness and content of remote antiquity

and with them the agony of satisfaction
as you look on gracefully, the power of a demon
makes of this moment an indelible memory

THIRST

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Thirst

tonight all the light is shining for you
tonight you are a small colony
that remains for a long time, melancholy seeping
from your body, with exquisite drops of water

the moon is like a clean, fragrant body
sound asleep, it gives off a seductive smell
a night is pressed on either side by two days
between them all, the dark circles around your eyes
stay joyful

what kind of clamour is piled up into your body?
inconsolable, one feels some substance taking shape
the walls in dreams blacken
so that you see traces of triangular overflow
the pores of the whole body open
ungraspable meaning
stars in the night sky shine with inhuman shine
while your eyes are loaded with
the sadness and content of remote antiquity

and with them the agony of satisfaction
as you look on gracefully, the power of a demon
makes of this moment an indelible memory

Thirst

tonight all the light is shining for you
tonight you are a small colony
that remains for a long time, melancholy seeping
from your body, with exquisite drops of water

the moon is like a clean, fragrant body
sound asleep, it gives off a seductive smell
a night is pressed on either side by two days
between them all, the dark circles around your eyes
stay joyful

what kind of clamour is piled up into your body?
inconsolable, one feels some substance taking shape
the walls in dreams blacken
so that you see traces of triangular overflow
the pores of the whole body open
ungraspable meaning
stars in the night sky shine with inhuman shine
while your eyes are loaded with
the sadness and content of remote antiquity

and with them the agony of satisfaction
as you look on gracefully, the power of a demon
makes of this moment an indelible memory
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