Kingfisher

by Xi Yongjun
     trs. by Sophia Kidd

Bupu River flows through the poem’s first line
beyond the poem   a kingfisher flies in from western hills
coming past lives and feathers of the river
the bird wants before appearing in line five, to land firmly upon
a reed
i know deeply the kingfisher is a flash of lightening,
staring fixedly at the water’s surface
deep in mediation, it soon catches a carp
then elegantly collecting sounds of wave
before Honggu wakes up   it sings the river
awakening Bupu River’s feathers
Bupu River deepens kingfisher’s blue hue
which in the poem’s last line   dips its wing into dawn   and alights

December 8, 2017, Chengdu, China