Poetry: "Listening Attentively to the Voice Bursting out of Loneliness"

Four Poems in Chinese Written by Tibetans before March 14th 2008

I. The Sudden Self —— Bursting in an Instant

The Sudden Self
—— bursting in an instant
In the mirror
there is a man
looks like me very much
He is incompetent
Until one day
I was suddenly smashed to pieces
He unexpectedly from the mirror
holding the broken skeleton
rushed into life

II. Tibet Does not Exist, Tibet Does Exist

Lakes do not have height
besides it is a vast pure water of the holy land
All the beasts are spying on
the meek sheep
In the lake a mountain was built by piling up stones
on the mountain is the Potala Palace
The Snow Lions obtained horses and hunted
once made the people glance sidelong
The whistles aroused by wudo (’ur rdo)
once terrified many people
Before long
The snow lion concealed wudo and sheep

The dark night is deathly stillness
the cold moon is high above in the sky
The heart compresses one’s blood
the strong wind cause the prayer flags fluttering
One’s blood became hot and cooled down again
One hurts so deeply

(Originally posted by Gyarong Yontan on March 13, 2008)

III. March 10

March 10, We are on our way home
—— dedicated to the youth volunteers
walking from Dharamsala to Tibet

We are peace-loving people
We do not advocate violence
We stress the karmic retribution
We promote tolerance and harmony
We are a kind-hearted people
We are a people with belief
Today we gather together
We only want to go home
We want to go back to Tibet
We deeply
love her!
March 10 we are on our way home
March ice and snow has not melted yet
We already started our journey
On our way home
Ravaging cold wind
can not deter our determination to return home
We are not on a tour or on an expedition
Not to engage in extreme sports
Even less to challenge others
We only want to go home
For many years we can not go home though we have a home
Every time I see the magnificent hometown in my dream
The picturesque village
My grandfather walks on the mountain road
The time-worn back of the limping [grandfather]
When awaking I always have tears covering my entire face
Oh, Tibet, my hometown!
Why can’t we go home though we have home
Why anyone want to cut apart the blood vessels of our people
Why want to have us disintegrate
Tibet, Tibetan!
Tibet, Tibetan!
We will never yield!

(Originally posted on March 10, 2008)

IV. Only after a long time can I miss my
Hometown completely

After a long time
When the snow accumulated in winter
Remained in my memory
Is completely melted
In this depressing city
The warm afternoon
I once again miss
For a long time lost
Brightness, happiness and freshness
After a long time
When the shallow footprints of you and I who are leading a wondering life
Again met in this solid city
In the cold night
I once again miss
for a long time
The cattle, sheep, the earth and my parents
After a long time
When the scent of the hometown
permeating my entire body
slowly disappeared in
this city near the water
the flourishing streets
I once again
For a long time sunk into
agitated, perplexed and exhausted state
After a long time
When the shattered pieces left on the corner of my mouth
Gradually receded in
This Hippocratic city
The strange language
I once again
For a long time scrupulously abide by
The loneliness, the silence and desolateness
Then, my dear
After a long time
When I can, once again
Miss completely
Would you please
Say to me in a soft voice
Where is my hometown
With smoke rising from kitchen chimney.
(written on the morning of March 13, 2008)

The above poems were translated from Chinese and were published together as one posting by Gyarong Yontan on his blog on July 29th 2008.
View the original posting here.