Fog Arrived; Fog Lifted Poem by Kong Yin

When the fog arrived,
I turned off my lamp,
not knowing from whom I was hiding.
My late-blooming magnolias
shared my wistful look.

When the fog lifted,
like a stranger, you walked by my hiding place.
On your body, a cloak of indifference.
On your face, the pain of seeking.
On your forehead, the weariness of a tramp.

As you stepped into
my magnolia tree’s shadow,
white blossoms instantly opened.
A breeze bore your familiar scent
and carried away the echo
of my quickening heartbeat.

My memory projected a faded picture:
you and I cuddled under a magnolia tree
by a broken wall.
When the fog arrived,
we were playing a lovers’ game of hide and seek.
Ah! Why were we so keen on playing our roles?
When the fog lifted we were so altered,
we could not recognize each other.