☀ Today's Poem: "II." Bei Dao

wild revelry is the privilege of slaves and the common folk
they use their feet to vote their hair to resist and make waves
songs boil the five stars in the public square
night and day chase each other in the clouds
students boycott classes clocks stop at midnight
along the vertical axis of power a meteor soars
an accordion opens the deep folds of time
the clamorous waves of the singer roll stones roll sun

fear and courage are the same seed
making our stomachs ache and ache
the moment is defined by a bird turning in midflight
the bird is an image that lasts an instant
soldiers at the city gates must be courting danger
lofty mountains flowing waters end in the palm of a hand
the sky leans against the glass of utopia
the grip of the god of death tightens around youthful hearts

midnight hear the dogs howl in the thick fog
how can the broken line of death reach the end
Forbidden City and traffic lights
the season of change cannot be stopped
open a history book or a newspaper
ambushed by tiger leopard jackal wolf
break out of the snare of Chinese characters
outside the grate of the underground another prison awaits

the revolution needs a bigger space
so that the same tragedy cannot repeat itself
protest banners lice empty plastic bottles
guitar players leaflets the glint of blood on the hour hand
the flocks of geese with tents bound to the earth
hunger strikers squandering their last provisions
negotiations and farmers markets haggling over prices
brakes fail while flooring the gas

ambulances wail through the city
trees thirst in silence along the shaded avenues
the public square absorbs the heat late into the night
moonlight oscillates insomniacs swim
the storm whirls away the details of the dreams
whispers and martial law warnings rage against the night sky
a wedding ceremony unfolds beside the monument
the blue beam of a searchlight escorts the bride

freshly brushed paint is already fading
and you have become unrecognizable in the mirror
history eats weeds stones are displaced
the seven stars of the Dipper point to no exit
sharp claws cannot reach your own back
anonymous diaries disperse
narratives replace different characters
until the end of the opening—

all the long nights are doomed expectations
all revolutions are ideals betrayed
tears run down the face of a young girl
secret little paths outside history
show us the way to learn how to grieve in revelry
and in grief to learn how to sing silently silently
on the way out of the square looking back
the tide laps the night into a giant wave