叮嘱
By Ye Zhou
将一盏灯送进
石窟，也别忘了
带一把青稞。
将一棵菩提
栽上壁画，也别忘了
供一碗净水。
将一尊佛像请进
敦煌，一定别忘了
养一对羔羊。
菩萨不会走。
可万一走了，这些
就是我们疼痛的拌料。
Notes:
This poem is part of the portfolio “Wind Crossing Grasses: Poems from Poems from China’s Dragon Rivers.” The folio is an excerpt from the forthcoming anthology of the same name, translated and edited by Wang Ping, with a co-introduction from Gary Snyder (Kinship Poetry Press, 2026). You can read the rest of the folio in the July/August 2025 issue.
Source: Poetry (July/August 2025)