Chairman Mao: I’ll Never Forget You By Yang Li

The sun dazzles this afternoon

I turn around, walk toward

A massive boulder in the distance

A few girls sitting on the edge

Relaxed

Their colorful clothes

Sparkling

Afternoons like this are rare

As I walk I’m thinking it might rain

Drops of rain will fall on the boulder

Where will the girls go for cover?

But now there’s not even a hint of wind

The sun shines down silently

It’s so beautiful! That boulder

And behind the boulder

In the distance, the dazzling sky

Yang Li, a poet from Chengdu, China, was born in 1961. From “Seeds of Fire: Chinese Voices of Conscience,” edited by Geremie Barme and John Minford (Hill & Wang: 498 pp., $25). Used by kind permission.