What The Grass Said To The Sun.

You give me warmth,
You give me strength,
My blades have turned green,
My tiny flowers red,
And I have formed a capsule of fine seeds.

You are the wet-nurse suckling me,
You are the lover loving me,
You are my second self, aware of my heartbeat;
I have loved you,
Love you,
Shall forever love you.

Winter has come,
With ice,
And snow,
How splendid!
An expanse of brightness,
An expanse of white
But I am locked in the ice
Covered with snow
And cannot see you
Or hear you.

No matter,
There is warmth in my heart,
I am happy,
Protected by the ice,
Enfolded in snow,
I must sleep,
Sleep gently,
Sweetly,
Then all the warmth you have given me,
Will flow into my roots,
And I shall sleep snugly,
Dreaming peaceful dreams.

Next year,
You will bring in the spring;
When that time comes
I shall open my eyes,
Raise my little head,
Stretch my little waist
And smile just as innocently
As I ever can;
With blades greener than ever,
Tiny flowers redder than ever,
I shall look at you and love you.

Next year,
The seeds formed this year will germinate;
They are my children,
Even more your children;
They will smile,
No one, not even I,
Has such an innocent smile;
Their blades will be green,
And no one, not even I,
Has such a red.

When you see them,
Their smiles will intoxicate you
Knowing how I watch you,
Listen to you
And love you
Wet-nurse who suckles me,
Lover who loves me,
My second self, aware of my heartbeat.

Give me your blessing;
Too great a blessing by far,
But gratefully I shall accept it.
And accept my blessing,
Too small a blessing by far,
But still kindly you will accept it.

Such bliss,
Such happiness.
I must sleep,
I am falling asleep,
Already I am dreaming
All is peace…
all is sweetness.




Translated by Gladys Yang.


(Hu Feng, born in 1902 in Quichun, Hubei, is a literary critic, poet and translator. In 1955, he was wrongly accused of being the chief of an anti-party clique and was not cleared until 1980. The case against the so-called “Hu Feng Anti-Party Clique” was wrong. )