Ping Hsin — For the Record

His right hand holds his slingshot,

His left a clay pellet.

He sits there, back against a pillar,

His legs straight, watching the sky

With his black eyes,

Stalking the crows that come

To steal the grapes from the arbor.

He intends to kill, but he cannot

Change his expression — filled with affection.

When I suddenly caught sight of him

From the window,

My eyes filled with tears.


— Ping Hsin (born in 1900); from "Women Poets of China" translated and compiled by Kenneth Rexroth and Ling Chung