High Peaks Pure Earth has translated a poem by Adong Paldothar that was posted online on a TibetCul poetry blog on November 19, 2011.
The poem was submitted as part of an activity where members of a poetry group all wrote a poem using the same title, “Straying Far From Myself”. Only one poem is being posted today and readers may remember other poems by Adong Paldothar translated by High Peaks Pure Earth, “I Am Tibetan” and “Drugchu: The Dragon’s Wrath”.
The author has chosen an environmental theme for the poem, reminiscent of a recent poem translated by High Peaks Pure Earth titled “To Amnye Machen”, reflecting Tibetan concerns about environmental damage.
Check back next Wednesday for the last poems of this series!
“Straying Far From Myself”
By Adong Paldothar
On an early morning, the glow in the smog
From the low-lying to the high mountains, the emaciated colour
Black touched with red, in front of the not-too-distant snow-capped mountains
Like ancient smoke signals, frightening
Take the soft grasslands, For
Thin layers of pastry
On the top of the mountain, people with metal fangs
Tear off the skeleton of the mountain, Blue sheep
Start on the hillside, hawks hover in the sky
Unable find a rock to stay on, feathers
Shed in the wind
On the silent grasslands, those
Tracks of wheels, like a scar on a young girl’s face
Oppress the vessel of the mountain, while those
Irrelevant rocks, exposed
Shapeless blood, whiter than milk
Drop by drop, flows along
With the wound of the hillside
I look at the grassland, as if
Looking at my grandmother, I look at the mountains
As if looking at my grandfather, I believe
Killing for no reason, would shed white blood
Only those who believe in this
Will see white blood
And respect the equality of life
In the name of environmental protection, we make the flocks and herds
Depart from their home, herders as well
Then in the name of tourism
We welcome car exhaust, and massive footprints
To interrupt the mountain and rivers, flowers and grass
The peaceful life of birds and reptiles
The euphonic bell of the biological clock
Such a strange scene, has yet become
Status and fashion, an established reason
For acquiring wealth, such a desire
Has been enlarged to a great scale
Until it drowns out the atmosphere
Until it loses weight and height
Do we start to realise
Exactly how far we have strayed from ourselves?
November 15, 2011 in Xining
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