Day 2: "The Answer" by Bei Dao

Zhao Zhenkai, better known by his pseudonym Bei Dao, is a Chinese poet and member of the Misty Poet movement. The Misty Poets were Chinese youths who grew up during the Cultural Revolution and subsequently reacted against the Communist regime.  "The Answer" was written, as noted by Wikipedia, during the 1976 Tiananmen riots, and published in the literary magazine Jintian, a short-lived publication of Misty poetry.  "The Answer" has a lot of the hopefulness found in Bei Dao's poetry, and reflects the attitude of many of the Chinese people at the time the poem was written, in that they refused to be treated like they had been by the Communist government for so long.  The poem itself is a powerful affirmation of humanity, and very well-written.

THE ANSWER

Debasement is the password of the base,
Nobility the epitaph of the noble.
See how the gilded sky is covered
With the drifting twisted shadows of the dead.

The Ice Age is over now,
Why is there ice everywhere?
The Cape of Good Hope has been discovered,
Why do a thousand sails contest the Dead Sea?

I came into this world
Bringing only paper, rope, a shadow,
To proclaim before the judgment
The voice that has been judged:

Let me tell you, world,
I—do—not—believe!
If a thousand challengers lie beneath your feet,
Count me as number thousand and one.

I don't believe the sky is blue;
I don't believe in thunder's echoes;
I don't believe that dreams are false;
I don't believe that death has no revenge.

If the sea is destined to breach the dikes
Let all the brackish water pour into my heart;
If the land is destined to rise
Let humanity choose a peak for existence again.

A new conjunction and glimmering stars
Adorn the unobstructed sky now;
They are the pictographs from five thousand years.
They are the watchful eyes of future generations.

Translated by Bonnie S. McDougall

Tomorrow: Donald Justice.