by He Zhong
     trs. by Wang Ping

I feel dark
Seeping through   like water
This darkness

First
Into my eyes
Then

Each bone
Each skin
Each cell

Of
True dark

I no longer know
Suddenly I feel
Perhaps this is

Light

by He Zhong
     trs. by Wang Ping

A flock of gray pigeons
Landed on the temple’s gilded roof

A group of children
Sent into Buddha’s new hall

A pack of dogs   fed by the faithful
Lying around the monastery

A crowd of peddlers
Selling goods as usual at the top of their lungs

by He Zhong
     trs. by Wang Ping

The Yaluzangbu flows through the roof of the earth
After the grand canyon of Muotuo
A sudden horse-shoe bend —180 degree
Straight into India full of voluptuous beauties
That sensuous bend — leading us astray to such bad thoughts

by He Zhong
     trs. by Wang Ping

So many changes in Lhasa
The Party’s sunshine
Brighter than the Tibetan sun
Development & stability
So many new scenes
All sorts of people walking on the streets
All sorts of people
From all sorts of places
Carrying
All sorts of thoughts on their minds