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| The Chinese Travelogue | (1986)
If you could dull its perspicuity, free it from chaos, limit its gleam,
liken it to a grain of dust, then it would seem to exist clearly.
| | Lao-Tse |  |
16
You know that I love you so much
that if time comes
and leads me away from you,
it will not be able to take me away –
how can one forget the fire?
How can one forget
that happiness wants to live
and grief wants to disappear?
You know that I love you so much
that I will not distinguish from this,
the sighing of the wind,
the rustle of branches,
the life of the rain,
the road that is like the candle
and what the alien darkness mutters
about the mind striking like a match into flame,
and even the unfortunate sound
of a frail butterfly striking the window pane.
Richard McKane
***
16
You know, I love you so much
that should there come a day
when I am taken from you,
it will not take me away –
as if anyone could forget fire?
as if anyone could forget
that happiness wants to be
and unhappiness wants not to be?
You know, I love you so much
that I can’t separate it from
the wind’s whistle, a branch’s rustle, the rain’s life,
or a path that looks candle-like,
the alien dark that mumbles,
my mind that has flashed like a match,
or even the sad dry sound of a butterfly’s
knock against glass.
Andrew Wachtel | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |  | | 16. You know that I love you so much... |
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