And Still You Are Not Here Poem by Wenjun Liu

Sun has rose and set, and you are still not here,
Outside in a world.
A world I've no idea.
Is the sun brighter out there, or the meadow greener?
Do the daffodils sing a happier song?
Does moon there shed not a single tear?
Quiet was the night when you bade me goodbye,
Quieter were the words you said as a promise,
With your eyes wild and bright,
wilder and brighter than meteor light.
Words were said,
Words that you would come back, and take me to a place
Where nights are dark but with a silver lining
and days can be hoped without uneasy stirring.

Moon has waxed and waned, and I'm still here
July looming near, stuck in the den of despair.
With my heart aching and my eyes burning,
I prayed for your return still.
It is only in the darkness of the night that I let myself sink under doubt and sorrow.
Waiting for the monster lurking by the window
Ever so fearful at the merest shadow.
Have you forgotten me, brother? Or are you coming back?
Have your eyes grown too used to the purity of the light
to dwell on it back home
Where not even the sun rays shine the color of white?
Kneel Idid at those nights, with children my age, under the bleak moonlight
And sung the only song I knew:

May the night be silent
May moon lead to no fear.
May the month be past without event,
And the fates of the children be left to the years.