Pile Driver (By Yan Li) Poem by Denis Mair
Pile Driver (By Yan Li)
by Yan Li
(translated by D Mair)
All the slander
The jealousy
All varieties of praise or contempt
All the things people do to each other
Set a pile driver in motion
Pounding pylons for the edifice of happiness
Yesterday I was pounded into bedrock
Another ten feet or so
More weight-bearing strength got driven into me
So the house that will rise on this foundation
Can be a few more stories high
I've thought of a use for the extra floors I build
They can be a museum for pile-driver heads
The biggest of them will be sculpted out of language
Because it has strength
No mechanical device can match
As Susan Williams said in her comment, people are people all over the world.Slander, jealousy, praise or contempt , people do to each other everywhere.But what matters is how we deal with those situations.
Thank you for making Yan Li accessible to the rest of us, Dennis- it is intriguing to read writings from other countries and their culture. It is very intriguing too to see people are people all over the world.
An interesting poem. Do we become what others pile on us? No. We are our own minds that have a choice through our own thoughts.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
5/8/2024 11:31:54 AM # 1.0.0.1119
Marvelous, consistent, transcendant