Birds | Zheng Xiaoqiong | Granta

Birds

Zheng Xiaoqiong

Translated by Eleanor Goodman

Birds

In the dissolving sky, birds whose name I’ve forgotten
as the rain washes clean their wings, their traces
I love the lonely moon and dark equivocating clouds
and the birds gathering on the windowsills
in the Huangma Mountains, everything rots readily


Zheng Xiaoqiong

Zheng Xiaoqiong was born in Nanchong, China, and has published twelve collections of poetry. Her work has been translated into languages such as German, French, Japanese and Russian, and featured internationally.

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Translated by Eleanor Goodman

Eleanor Goodman is the author of the poetry collection Nine Dragon Island and the translator of five books. In the Roar of the Machine: Selected Poems by Zheng Xiaoqiong is forthcoming from NYRB.

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