Yellow

From Still Life, Three Worlds by Dai Pan (潘岱). Poem 18.

Random ink, one night, fills the sky.
Afternoon, I set down my pen,
Walking into the sunset.

Looking back, I see birds by the water,
In the ripples, in the park.
Quietly watching me, swimming away.
Following its gaze,
I see into the distance,
Green temples like those in Southeast Asia.

Restaurant, or memorial hall,
Arc-shaped tiles,
Carrying traces of dust,
Melting perfectly into the green leaves behind.
Below the window, many people sit.
Their shadows stretched long,
Pulled into the evening's gentle sway.

At hand, a paper cup,
Purple tea completes a green dream,
Blue sun, red self, mine, my brain.

Cite as: Dai Pan, "Yellow," Three Worlds, Still Life, poem 18, 2025. https://daipan.ink/still-life/yellow

Still Life 18

Yellow

Random ink, one night, // fills the sky.
Afternoon, I set down my pen,
Walking into the sunset.

Looking back, I see // birds by the water,
In the ripples, in the park.
Quietly watching me, // swimming away.
Following its gaze,
I see into the distance,
Green temples like those in Southeast Asia.

Restaurant, or memorial hall,
Arc-shaped tiles,
Carrying traces of dust,
Melting perfectly into the green leaves behind.
Below the window, many people sit.
Their shadows stretched long,
Pulled into the evening's gentle sway.

At hand, a paper cup,
Purple tea completes a green dream,
Blue sun, red self, // mine, my brain.