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Cao Bo [China]

 




A Little Bird

Winter, hazy, heavy, epidemic
The bird died at nightfall
It took its curtain call
When evening descended
Natural, peaceful, at the stairs, a little sad
It was no longer lonely. I picked it up, went downstairs
And buried it, beside the stairs
The instant it died, it was pretty elegant, deserving the reputation of
A good bird
Burying it beside the stairs
Smoothing the soil, and scattering some dead branches
Then I went upstairs
And continued
With my drinking
 

 
Wheat Is Still Golden After Being Cut
 
Privets or ash trees
Swaying slightly in the hot air
I look at the wheat fields
The village is not beautiful
Apart from this, the wheat fields are still golden after being cut
I discard bad words
For accurate expression
The Qinling Mountains are dark azure
Because of complex clouds
Happiness comes from shouting
Apart from this
What else
A trickle of water
A silly crowing bird
Hiding in leaves and I say: this is not art
Flying behind my head
It touches my hair and hides in leaves again
A fat man runs slowly past me and says
It’s not bad, man. It’s only torture
That makes a man relatively able to climb
Apart from this
Just a field of golden wheat
I wish and I intend
If my love is around
I’ll become a naturalist in a heartbeat
Baring my carcass
Making love
As well as lyricizing 
Art is a pair of eyes
With half a gesture added at most
No need for words
Or any
Obscene words
 
(Translated by Cao Shui
 
 

Author’s Bionote:
 
*Cao Bo
, born in November 1979, lives in Xi’an, China. He is a Chinese postmodernism poet and an avant-garde poet. His devotion to poem writing started when he was 20. He has published poetry collections Yesterday’s Episode (2017), You Are a Cat (2019), The Man at Sea (2020) and Rosefinch (2023). He has been awarded The Chinese Young Poet Award, Top Ten Poetry Collection of Poetry Tide, Boao International Poetry Award. He serves as deputy director of Silk Road International Poetry Festival.

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