青鸟

只要想起奈何不得的事
茶⾊的⽓泡便涌上来
⽐如把向⽇葵别在⽿后
⽐如⼩⼼地打碎⽛齿
徒劳的事往往诱⼈
不如编⼀顶花冠
同⿅⽿语
七⽉去顿河找⼀棵李树
鸟⼉世代依树⽽栖
让她作⼀只青鸟上下翩飞
离开河畔只要想起奈何不得的事
茶⾊的⽓泡便尽数涌上来

cyan bird

once vainness in life comes to mind
tawny bubbles gush up
pinning a sunflower behind her ear
smashing her teeth in slow motion
in futility lies temptation
why not weave a wreath
flows of whispers to the deer’s ear
in July, by the Don, searching for a plum tree
on trees birds live their days
paint her cyan and wind her way along
turning away from the riverside, once vainness comes to
mind tawny bubbles all gush up to the surface

Yuanrun “Diana” Zhou is from Shanghai, China. She is a junior at Bates College, double-majoring in Philosophy and Dramaturgy. This poem was originally composed in Mandarin in 2017, prompted by her experience as the director of “Henry IV: A New Hope” by Don Zolidis, a mashup stage play of “Star Wars” and William Shakespeare’s “Henry IV”.