Squirrels in my body by Ma yongbo 马永波

There are many squirrels in my body.
I used to be a pine tree with many squirrels
Squirrels in and out of my moonlit branches
Squirrels at the top of me, overlooking mountains,
Pastures, squirrels joining hands around my trunk
like a great squirrel necklace surrounding me
Now all my squirrels are leaving one by one
Their furry tails are disappearing
Knocking the snow from my branches like fine white dust
in the sunlight, soon all my squirrels will be gone
and my branches will be quiet. I will stand alone, in the sudden silence
of the wood. But then, as I look up, in the distance, I see a black cat bringing all
my squirrels home.

English Translation by Ma Yongbo and Helen Pletts 2024