M E L U S I N E   L I N
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TWO POEMS

 

 

Looking with Other Eyes—A Song for Eileen Chang 1

Lyric by Hsia Yu, music and vocals by Mélusine Lin
(English translation by Mélusine Lin)

click [ here ] for mp3

Dejection comes when splendor reaches its peak
Despair comes when dejection reaches its end
Some throw themselves into complete riot
Some leave for faraway lands and exile
And she? She listens and listens as the drum of life dims.

She sits above the clouds, eyes shut
Knowingly watching while men and women suffer.
Drunk with diamond-like awareness
Heard with concentration of the mind,
The wind pushes people along the current of the era

Fine souls are strings of the universe
Essences resound as strings are gently played
She does not even need to move about
A sea of light appears, full of prosperity
As she softly cries out

There is no need to search for her with great effort
She almost turns dumb through trying to hide
She lies down on a full moon night 2       
Having walked into her own legend
Carrying not even a grain of sand

At first she wanted a peaceful life
But lived instead a life of turmoil, meandering
All given to the waves her ashes in the urn 3        
She won't put up with
Love triangles

“She won't go along. It won't work
Even if you give in to her.” 4

 

 

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1 Eileen Chang was one of the most prominent Chinese women novelists of the 20th century. She wrote in both Chinese and English. In Taiwan, her work was immensely popular, spawning a group of novelists known as the “Chang School.”

2 Eileen Chang dies on a full moon night.

3 It was Chang's will to have her ashes scattered on the sea.

4 Quoted from Chang's first husband Hu Lan-cheng.

 

 

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