My Mother Prays Every Morning

My Mother Prays Every Morning

In morning, my mother will get off the bed

goes to clear her face, then slowly

she will go to the bookshelf in the studio

where her parents and husband look and smile

at her from frames. Before the photos, she put

pet toys, pig for her mother, monkey for her father,

and ram for her husband, auspicious zodiac animals

for each of them, each shows a peace and happiness

they had not enjoyed in their lifetime.

My mother will light incense

and pray, may you be happy now, and bless

your kids, grandchildren, and the world.

My mother still doesn’t know

what has hurt her in her life,

and how she has hurt back.

why the worlds - hers and the world

go in the shelter of a crystal sphere.

My mother prays every morning,

and the world is contained and calm,

with love, and crystallized tear and smile.

Yan Zhou, February 24, 2023

《策兰偶遇屈子》、李贺《傷心行》两首诗英译