Snow
Translated from the Chinese
Listen to the snow on earth, falling upon us
From the unknown space. Sky darkens—a line of poetry
Is half complete; the shepherd and his sheep are
Coming down from the hill, through thorns, wetland, exposed
On the Gobi. Snow is decorating the cosmos, as we
Seek our path to get back home, and the mountains are joyful.
On the open riverbanks, rocks and sheep
Move slowly. Only gods can tell
Their difference, perhaps.
Studded against the whiteout snow,
The shepherd stands like a sore black word.
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)