Moonlight

by Xue Di

     translated by Hil Anderson and Forrest Gander

Crystals roll across the ocean’s rough cloth
The stars’ little hands clutch at night’s coat
Moon, tiny circle of music
Waves collapse at the end of a day’s rage

In sleep, the fisherman follows a school of fish
A golden anchor catches in his heart
What joy!
When I listen to the ocean’s deep
I hear the salty voices of crabs
Calling to that lone figure on shore gazing out

Memory, life at a distance
When the ocean washes back to reveal its small beauties
When life in the shadow of a clump of grass becomes intimate

The moon floating on the sky
Its bright gong
Opens the scab of my grief

An empty ship sets sail through a white crystalline mist
Toward the backwaters of the ocean where my daughter
Continues to face toward the place I remain
Sweet contentment!

When I listen to my blood I hear sharks
Wagging their tails against the current of the very ocean
I hear its inexhaustible conflict with everything
And I hear a voice boom, “Be reconciled!”

MOONLIGHT

“Moonlight” was written in a small fishing village on the coastline in southern China.  I was invited by the committee of the village to visit the area and write poems about its grotesque, rocky landscape mixing with the ocean scenery.  The committee provided everything including accommodations at a local hotel and a seafood banquet every day.  I had days of happiness with fishermen and their blue salty water.  Finally the writing project was withdrawn by the committee, and I left this poem for the fishermen.