The Best Way to Be a Hermit
He once said the best way to be
a hermit in this world is to write.
Beneath the setting sun I gaze at the fogged horizon
and wonder what he’s up to now.
He barely ever socialises.
His habits are undeviating:
Every day he gets off work, buys groceries, cooks dinner.
Chats with his son, reads with him
and helps him do his homework.
Watches a ball game or goes running at the track.
Sometimes he spends half a year training for a marathon.
Then, late at night, he sits on the balcony and writes.
With the hustle and bustle of the snack street below him
he doesn’t feel lonely anymore.
At two in the morning he smokes his last cigarette
and goes to bed. Maybe like me
he gazes at the fogged horizon
but the fog is in his imagination
slowly spreading and dissolving.
About the translators
Austin Woerner is a Creative Fellow in Chinese-English literary translation at the University of Leeds.
Wang Dandan is an MA student currently enrolled in the English Literature course at the School of English, University of Leeds.