The Hand of time (岁月之手原文)

Joy ang Yan’s poem

Deep distant memories

Condensed in goblet.

Hand—tanned and wrinkled—

Embraces the past

Through hazy reminiscences—

Searching for clarity.

An action—soft and gentle—

A stream of images—suspended.

Aura of stories—grief—joy

Remote from yesteryear—

Legends from long long ago.

Serenity or storm

Shadowy memories—fleeting—intense—

Freeze—framed and stored.

Echoes of exclamations—

The sound of sighs

Mellowed by beer—

Bit bitter—bit sweet

Bit succour—bit beat.

Perspicacity—

Obscurity—

Suspended in serenity.

Clouded in calmness—

Silence and memories.

Along with the faltering ripples of time—

You slowly open your heart to me.

Composed and translated By Guo Yan

Re-Created in English By Li Le