Extraordinary Sunshine Weaver

I’m beyond delighted that Yongbo Ma, a Chinese scholar, is translating some of my poems into Chinese. He translated “The Caregiver’s Craft”, which is from my book Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir and now “The Emperor’s Dragon”, which is about my trip to China in 2009.

The Emperor’s Dragon
        	Upon visiting China in 2009
 
Bone to bone with natives,
I capture a sight once forbidden
by the kingdom – the Emperor’s Throne.
Guarded by Fu Lions,
heated by deep cauldrons
brewing the spoils of valiant conquests,
this gilded dragon swallows me.
 
He carries me breathless
along the serpentine spine of the Great Wall
into the shadows of ancient sentries
guarding the emperor’s treasures –
jade, silk, porcelain, golden wares.
Shaped, woven, carved, etched to perfection.
 
The dragon scans a landscape
of daily toil. Country roads lined
with carts of fruits, vegetables.
A farmer’s wife waves as I snap pictures
of her roosters, hens, pigs.
 
We descend over a rubble of bricks
to Suzhou’s secrets. Legends,
bound in parchment sealed by scholars.
Their triumphs, their duty tested in cages.
 
At a city park in Nanjing,
people walk their dogs,
play Tai Chi, fly kites,
dance to music from “Grease”
display their caged birds.
 
At People’s Square in Shanghai,
a wide-eyed girl with long, black braids,
a frilly pink dress, and white pumps
waves from the KFC.
 
Vendors line the city walkways
with silk slippers, gilded bags, wooden combs.
Fishers sort their catches.
In the alleys, shirtless men
blow smoke over Mahjong tiles.
 
The dragon maneuvers with chaotic screams
as two young girls on pink mopeds
dart between students on bikes.
 
Families in cars, workers on buses,
all frantically move head on
into a silent agreement to part ways.

Copyright © 2024 Barbara Leonhard

Translation into Chinese by the honorable Chinese scholar, Yongbo Ma.

皇帝的龙
—— 2009年访华 

与当地人骨肉相连，
我捕捉到曾被王国
禁止的景象——龙椅。
两旁有守护的福狮，
炙热的深釜中
煮着勇敢征服者们的战利品，
镀金的龙把我吞在腹中。 

它带着我，屏住呼吸
沿着长城蜿蜒的脊梁
进入古代哨兵的影子
他们在守护皇帝的珍宝——
玉器、丝绸、瓷器、金器。
精雕细琢，完美无瑕。 

龙四下扫视着
日常劳作的场景。
乡间道路两旁，排满了
装着果蔬的车辆。
一位农妇向我挥手
我拍了她的公鸡、母鸡和猪。 

我们越过一堆残砖剩瓦，
降落在苏州的秘密中。传奇，
被学者们封存在故纸堆中。
他们的胜利，他们在牢笼中接受的考验。 

在南京的城市公园，
人们遛狗，
打太极，放风筝，
伴着“油腻”的音乐跳舞，
展示他们的笼中鸟。 

在上海的人民广场，
一个黑长辫子的大眼睛女孩，
粉色褶边裙，白色高跟鞋，
从肯德基里向我挥手。 

小贩们沿着城市的步道
出售丝绸拖鞋、镀金的包和木梳。
渔民们整理他们的渔获。
小巷里，赤膊的老爷们儿
在麻将牌桌上喷云吐雾。 

龙在混乱的尖叫声中穿梭，
两个少女骑着粉色电瓶车
在骑自行车的学生中间猛冲。 

家人开车，工人乘公交，
所有人都急匆匆，迎面而来
又默默地达成分道扬镳的协议。

Translation by Yongbo Ma, September 20, 2024

Yongbo Ma was born in 1964. He has a PhD and is a translator, editor, and leading scholar of postmodern poetry. He has authored or translated more than 80 published books. Ma is a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Literature at Nanjing University of Science and Technology. His translations from English include works by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, W.C.Williams, John Ashbery, Herman Melville and others. You can follow him on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093276516900.