Grasslands
You bring nothing but yourself to the grasslands
from vastness to vastness
the horizon loves me
Tiny humans, always failing on the face of the earth
you throw back your head and gaze upward
the clouds love me
Everywhere you’ve never been is home
even plants need clothes cut to fit
the wind loves me
You let love get away
now it’s just you, growing ever more alone
a field of wildflowers begins to open, and each one loves me
June 2021
About the translators
Austin Woerner is a Creative Fellow in Chinese-English literary translation at the University of Leeds.
Zhang Jingyi is a student enrolled in the MA Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies course at University Leeds.