For My Mother

How can you resist the great waves of timehammering the shore over and over againHow to resist your eyes—my amber gatelosing its woman’s lusterHow to prevent time’s assassin from infiltrating smooth skinThere’s no way to escape this magical powerYour slender figure, not waiting to mount the bridal saddleIn a flash, black braids seem tohave become sparse black strandsYour weary head, the present becoming muddledYour childhood shadow sinks into distant separationThe old house of your youth appears only in dreamsGlimmering silver adornments—Nuosu queenThe waves of that hundred-pleated skirt overshadow jealouslyYou’ve witnessed joys, sorrows, partings, and gatherings of this  worldSaying good-bye to all this hasn’t made you truly look backOne by one, all the sisters of your generationhave entered eternal sleep on the cremation bierYes, who can console you—ask the elapsed calendarYes, who can give you the consolation that cannot be given