SELECTED POEMS BY LI QINGLIAN

Translated by Chen Yulin

TO THE MOTHERLAND

Missing Mother,I have tears rolling down
in two streams
—the Yellow River
—the Yangtze River.

FANTASY AT THE JAR MOUTH

There seem to be a divinity
Standing on a loess plateau,
Holding a magic jar,
To irrigate the orient day and night.

TO OLD MAN C

A bald old tree, having weathered the devastation
of the storms,
Shows its annual rings,
Carved by the knife of the Time.
And they are soundless gramophone records.

　Li Qinglian, born in 1934, of the origin of Qinyang of Henan Province. Four volumes of poetry collection have been finished including Selected Short Poems of Li Qinglian(Bilingual: Chinese-English). Many of his works have been adopted in many anthologies.