The Square

The north wind is sharp, like
a pen tip dipped in winter’s chill, revising the poem of the trees.
A silent bridge can do nothing about it—
stripping away the rhetoric of leaves,
the vast sky retains only the bare branches of language,
chaotically scripting my return home.

A lone bird’s nest,
swaying or still,
could become the heart of another poem.
Below, the thin Gan River lingers,
clutched by tenacious roots,
dragged into the vortex of time.

Later, in the clamor of the city,
in the rootlessness of a foreign land,
a photograph stumbled upon by chance—
a quiet bird’s nest—
suddenly brought my lost hometown back to me.

​

About the Poet: Li Ping, a factory worker born in the 1970s, is a member of the Hubei Writers Association and the International Chinese Language Writers Association. His works have appeared in numerous publications, including Youth Poetry, Hubei Poetry, Shandong Poetry, Zhejiang Poet, Young Poets, Tianjin Poet, Beijing Poet, New Worker Literature, Guangzhou Literature, Suzhou Literature, Jiaying Literature, Dapeng Literature, Star Literature, Wuhan Literature, Southern Literature, Qilu Literature, Henan Literature, Star Prose Poetry, Xiangjiang Literature & Art, Lengshuitan Literature & Art, Rural Literature & Art, Chinese Countryside, Autumn Water, Heatwave, Huanhua, Zhiyin, Comedy World, Cultural World, Youth Literary Collection, Dad River, and Post-Novel Era, among over a hundred others. His works have been selected for anthologies such as Poetry Classics 2017, 2023 Chinese Poetry Annual Selection, and Heartstrings: Lingnan Poetry Annual Selection 2023.

《鸟巢考察报告》

北风锐利，犹如

笔尖，蘸着冬日的冷冽删改树木之诗。

对此，一架沉默的桥无能为力

剔除叶子的修辞

浩大的苍穹只余语言的枯枝

凌乱地抒写我的归乡

孤零零的鸟巢

摇晃，或者静止

都可以成为另一首诗的内核

而消瘦的淦河，就在桥下徘徊

被隐忍的根须抓着

拽向年轮的漩涡

后来，在喧嚣的城市

在漂泊的异乡

在一张偶然出现的照片

一个寂静的鸟巢

突然让我找到了失落的故乡

诗人简介：李平，七零后工人，湖北省作协、国际华文作协会员，作品散见《青春诗歌》《湖北诗歌》《山东诗歌》《浙江诗人》《青年诗人》《天津诗人》《北京诗人》《新工人文学》《广州文学》《苏州文学》《嘉应文学》《大鹏文学》《星星文学》《武汉文学》《南方文学》《齐鲁文学》《河南文学》《星星.散文诗》《香江文艺》《冷水滩文艺》《乡村文艺》《中国乡村》《秋水》《热风》《浣花》《知音》《喜剧世界》《文化大世界》《青少年文汇》《大渡河》《后小说时代》等百余种报刊，入选《诗歌经典2017》《2023中国诗歌年选》《心弦.岭南诗歌年选2023》等。