Poetry Garden

This poem is an English translation selected from the third section, "Poetry Garden" (诗苑), of the Chinese poetry journal Workers' Poetry Selection (《打工诗选刊》).

Tonight, I Stay on Caoyang Road

Night falls like a shelter with open doors.
Migrant aunties come to rest,
their flip-flops slap-slapping,
plastic bags rustling,
as the showerhead pours out its pent-up rush.

A few angry toothbrushes rattle against cup edges,
as if someone stole their scene.
A roomful of accents from all over the land
chats warmly,
these aunties tired from a long day no longer hold back—
they release a symphony of life.

The moon hangs in an empty sky,
outside, cars roar past without end.
I scroll through a few poems on my phone,
letting all the noise
set up a pot that simmers me,
simmers the city that never sleeps.

Luo Lizhen, from Yichun, Jiangxi. A domestic skills trainer in Shanghai, she has won multiple awards in the "Poetry China Poet Forum" competitions. Works have appeared in Dezhou Evening News, Spark, Yichun Daily, Poetry China, Love You for Eternity, and other publications. She believes poetry is the best refuge for the soul.

《今夜，我我住曹杨路》

夜降临，好似敞开门的收容所

打工阿姨们赶来栖息

脚下拖鞋吧嗒吧嗒

塑料袋窸窸窣窣

伴着淋浴水龙头的宣泄

几支愤怒的牙刷，来回撞击杯壁

像谁抢了它们的戏一样

一屋子五湖四海的口音，聊得甚欢

累了一天的阿姨们，不再憋屈

释放出一首生活交响曲

月亮挂在空荡的天空

窗外车辆呼啸不绝

我滑着手机里几首诗

任由一切嘈杂声

支起一口锅炖着我，炖着不夜的城

罗莉珍，江西宜春人，上海家政服务技能培训师，多次获“诗中国诗人论坛诗赛”奖，部分作品发表在，《德州晚报》《星火》、《宜春日报》《诗中国》、《爱你一万载》等报刊杂志；喜欢诗歌，诗歌是安放灵魂最好的去处。