Zhou Zan - WINGS

Though shaped like banners, the women
never indulge in dancing in the wind,
their metronome (who invented it? )
seems to be set mainly to resist the wind’s direction,
obviously they have their own, hidden objective.
When they grow in the didden parts of our bodies
( oh, that blasted windmill’s wekness for public spectacle! )
they must use a curved form, to bring out symmetrically
the difference between the birds and the beasts
( not including angels and bats );
if their will develops into a
cause, like flying also is
a way of living or a means of supporting life,
they will realize the need for balance,
but not a single banner cares the least about
this point, and kites
content themselves with complacent happiness.
When wings are full, the bodies will feel
A kind of ease and freedom, like a ball-shaped buoy
that comes from within and swells outward;
thus, the fins of a swimming fish
are by no means retrogressive ornament, but merely imply that
the heart’s freedom must be symmetrical to the flow of the water.

7 June 2000

Translated by Steve Riep
en_GBEN