Overlooked
South of the Ile River, a hundred thousand sand date trees
raised as vibrant yellow flames
illuminating May
and those busy bees
overlook an emaciated sprig of tarragon.
Under such brilliant sunlight,
spring is in full force and
the clouds overlook the blue sky.
With the land in fragrant bloom,
butterflies flutter.
And one of them overlooks the speed at which a flower blooms.
Following the wafting of the smoke,
eight nirus sit amid the lingering dawn and dusk.
In the vast, open fields,
the grainfilling of winter wheat
overlooks the blowing wind.
On the night of a bright moon, nature is silent.
Sleep overlooks the warbling of birds
like how tired ears
skip
the bard’s call and response.
Seeing one’s homeland, the swallows fly in diagonal formation.
Who has overlooked the tears?
Just as how I, with a trembling heart,
have overlooked
the nurturing from afar.
Translated from Chinese by Chrystal Ho and Al Lim
Original in Xibe
Chinese version (by the author)
忽略
伊犁河以南，十万棵沙枣树
举起灿黄的火焰
照亮五月
而那些奔忙的蜜蜂
忽略了一茎瘦弱的椒蒿
如此绚烂的日光下
春季沸腾
云朵忽略了湛蓝的天空
大地芬芳
蝴蝶翩飞
其中的一只忽略了花开的
速度
沿着炊烟的指向
八个牛录坐入缭绕的晨昏
田野浩荡
正在灌浆的冬小麦
忽略了吹拂的风
明月之夜，草木无言
睡眠忽略了鸟儿的鸣啭
像疲倦的耳朵
忽略了
吟诵者的一咏三唱
望见燕子斜飞的家园
谁忽略了热泪？
一如内心战栗的我
忽略了
遥远的哺乳
Asu Sumur 阿苏 (Chinese name Su Zhongming, b. 1962) is one of the few bilingual Xibe poets writing in Chinese and Xibe, an endangered language. A Punk singer in Xibe, he started publishing poetry in 1984 under the pen name of A Su. So far, he has published three collections of poems and 10 books in Xibe translation. He won the prestigious West Region Literary Award in 2020 and Tianshan Literature Award in 2022.
Chrystal Ho is a writer from Singapore. Fluent in English and Mandarin, she works primarily with poetry and nonfiction in English. Her writing, often inspired by her linguistic heritage, has been published in The Tiger Moth Review and PR&TA Journal, amongst others. A former Creative Resident at the National Library of Singapore, she is currently pursuing a Masters in Creative Writing at Nanyang Technological University.
Al Lim is an anthropologist and poet, who is part-Singaporean and part-Thai. He writes primarily in English, strongly influenced by his other languages of Thai and Chinese. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in the joint Anthropology and Environmental Studies program at Yale University. His literary works have appeared in over 20 outlets, such as OF ZOOS, STAPLE Magazine, and Twin Cities.