Anna Keiko – Poetry Cycle (Part One)
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01 远航
FAR VOYAGE
You are a fish
Pushing onward through the murky waters,
Tumbling amidst the roaring waves.
Never halted by the raging tides,
Nor lingering to frolic in the pond of spring.
Instead, you strive toward the tranquil sea,
Devoting every moment of effort
For the sea purifies all that is tainted
02 我的灵魂家园
MY SOUL'S HOMESTEAD
If I owned a fertile acre's lease
A thatched hut sheltering from cold and heat
Why squeeze into steel-concrete terrains?
Houses can be measured, wide or neat
But human hearts hold depths none can feign.
Wildflowers scent the path with nature's grace
Though countless streets and roofs may fill the view
When heart seeks light, all space becomes bright space
While lamps shine on faces, power guides what's due.
I've lingered in splendid days in vain
Stained by this era's vast, unending tide.
My soul dwells on an isolated plain
Guarding wild emptiness on every side.
With just a gourd of drink, a simple meal
Enough to make the inner sunlight real.
January 2, 2026, 08:51
03 石头上的玫瑰
ROSE ON THE STONE
She stubbornly
Makes flowers bloom in the desert
Some call it a gift from heaven
Some call it luck
Some say=
Little do they know
Every night, she props her eyelids open with both hands
To catch invisible droplets
And pour them into the parched, deep soil
Then, drip by drip, they seep downward
Until the earth grows damp
Until green sprouts from the stone
December 21, 2025, 04:15
04 人到中年
MIDDLE AGE
Middle age dreads the night most-
the soul suspended, sleep elusive,
the neck strangled, breathless, no one in sight.
Gazing skyward, bowing to earth,
FAR VOYAGE
You are a fish
Pushing onward through the murky waters,
Tumbling amidst the roaring waves.
Never halted by the raging tides,
Nor lingering to frolic in the pond of spring.
Instead, you strive toward the tranquil sea,
Devoting every moment of effort
For the sea purifies all that is tainted
02 我的灵魂家园
MY SOUL'S HOMESTEAD
If I owned a fertile acre's lease
A thatched hut sheltering from cold and heat
Why squeeze into steel-concrete terrains?
Houses can be measured, wide or neat
But human hearts hold depths none can feign.
Wildflowers scent the path with nature's grace
Though countless streets and roofs may fill the view
When heart seeks light, all space becomes bright space
While lamps shine on faces, power guides what's due.
I've lingered in splendid days in vain
Stained by this era's vast, unending tide.
My soul dwells on an isolated plain
Guarding wild emptiness on every side.
With just a gourd of drink, a simple meal
Enough to make the inner sunlight real.
January 2, 2026, 08:51
03 石头上的玫瑰
ROSE ON THE STONE
She stubbornly
Makes flowers bloom in the desert
Some call it a gift from heaven
Some call it luck
Some say=
Little do they know
Every night, she props her eyelids open with both hands
To catch invisible droplets
And pour them into the parched, deep soil
Then, drip by drip, they seep downward
Until the earth grows damp
Until green sprouts from the stone
December 21, 2025, 04:15
04 人到中年
MIDDLE AGE
Middle age dreads the night most-
the soul suspended, sleep elusive,
the neck strangled, breathless, no one in sight.
Gazing skyward, bowing to earth,
beyond the sixty-four hexagrams lies a secret scroll:
alive in a scene of the cosmos,
encircled-by serpents, demons, scorpions.
Sometimes in reverse dreams, I reach to grasp,
only to wake to three meals, hollow and real.
A sheet of paper conceals untold densities,
life but a speck of dust drifting past.
On the other end of breath,
there, crowds gather-chatting, reminiscing-
on streets, in alleyways, at crossroads.
Some seek their ideals,
some clutch Empty Wine Bottle,
alive in a scene of the cosmos,
encircled-by serpents, demons, scorpions.
Sometimes in reverse dreams, I reach to grasp,
only to wake to three meals, hollow and real.
A sheet of paper conceals untold densities,
life but a speck of dust drifting past.
On the other end of breath,
there, crowds gather-chatting, reminiscing-
on streets, in alleyways, at crossroads.
Some seek their ideals,
some clutch Empty Wine Bottle,
murmuring to themselves.
Note 1: "Gazing skyward, bowing to earth, the sixty-four hexagrams"
refers to the I Ching (Book of Changes).
05 我自己就是意义
I MYSELF AM MEANING
Before finding a definite meaning,
I myself am meaning.
All other wrappings and fillings are not what I need.
I follow the path of one who shows no form nor speaks,
Who is my meaning and my guide in action.
No need to introduce name or place-
Yet like a shadow, it follows.
December 19, 2025, 10:45
06 你从不被定义
YOU ARE NEVER DEFINED
You are your own miracle
Received a ticket to the Hall of Arts last night.
Sleepless through the night
This is no divine favor
But the indomitable you
Being discovered, being understood
In your earlier journey
You expressed the language hidden in your blood
In the days to come
Who could foresee your next stop
You are never defined
Yet your heart forever chases a beam of light
Because it is blurred
You yearn to see it clearly
December 17, 2025, 06:27
Note 1: "Gazing skyward, bowing to earth, the sixty-four hexagrams"
refers to the I Ching (Book of Changes).
05 我自己就是意义
I MYSELF AM MEANING
Before finding a definite meaning,
I myself am meaning.
All other wrappings and fillings are not what I need.
I follow the path of one who shows no form nor speaks,
Who is my meaning and my guide in action.
No need to introduce name or place-
Yet like a shadow, it follows.
December 19, 2025, 10:45
06 你从不被定义
YOU ARE NEVER DEFINED
You are your own miracle
Received a ticket to the Hall of Arts last night.
Sleepless through the night
This is no divine favor
But the indomitable you
Being discovered, being understood
In your earlier journey
You expressed the language hidden in your blood
In the days to come
Who could foresee your next stop
You are never defined
Yet your heart forever chases a beam of light
Because it is blurred
You yearn to see it clearly
December 17, 2025, 06:27
……………………………………….
Tomorrow the second part
