The poet Hussain Manawer has written an emotional

The poet Hussain Manawer has written an emotional poem, “Keeping You Alive, ” that tackles the pain of losing loved ones to the pandemic but also offers hope Poetry is ‘by definition consoling’ … the UK’s poet laureate Simon Armitage

ABOUT YU JIAN • The Chinese poet Yú Jiān 于坚 was born in 1954 • He wrote the poem “I Saw Darkness, I Never Saw a Crow” in 2020 – during the current COVID pandemic • His poems are known for their conversational, spoken style • He has written more than 20 poems since COVID-19 began, most of them published online, with titles such as “The Maskless”, “Age of Pandemic”, and “Two Kinds of Statistics”. • Crows and darkness are recurring images in his poetry. 于坚

WHAT DO CROWS SYMBOLISE IN CHINA? Death Filial piety Rebellion Evil Bad luck The sun

我见过黑暗 我从未见过一只乌鸦 Literal translation Published translation 那些乌鸦抬着翅膀跳来跳去 Those crows lift wings & jump around Crows dancing to a cheery tune 那些乌鸦在吃一只大老鼠的尸体 Those crows are eating a big rat’s dead body They share the corpse of a big rat 那些乌鸦为乌云抬着棺材 那些乌鸦嘴喋喋不休 一边飞 一边说着天空的坏话 那些乌鸦跛着腿走在宫殿的阳台上 那些乌鸦在啄食王冠上的乌鸦 Those crows carry coffins for black clouds They chatter while carrying dark clouds’ coffins Those crows chatter endlessly/jabber on They speak ill of the sky while flying As they fly they say bad things about the sky The crippled crows are pacing the balcony of a palace Those crows limp around on the balcony of a/the palace They peck other crows on the crown

I saw darkness I never saw a crow Translated by Shuyu Guo Crows dancing to a cheery tune They share the corpse of a big rat They chatter while carrying dark clouds’ coffins They speak ill of the sky while flying The crippled crows are pacing the balcony of a palace They peck other crows on the crown They write to the abyss Their handwriting is so neat as if they were soaring They eat up darkness while not pursuing any light The world is producing dark matter through politics violence and love Through the mafia crouching down in a square in Sicily Through one poem after another The rabble is eulogizing crows The world is never darker than the crows God does not dare disclose their conspiracy The nightcrawler of the daylight I saw darkness I never saw a crow— The perfection of darkness They are dressed in suits and sit in a meeting room of the court When the rear-end of the daylight comes uncovered The crows shield its exposed skin with their darkness

Glossary 见过 jiàn guò: to have seen 啄食 zhuó shí: peck 通过 tōnɡ ɡuò: through, to pass 黑暗 hēi àn: darkness 王冠 wáng guàn: crown through, via 从未 cóng wèi: never 深渊 shēn yuān: abyss, deep, 蹲 dūn: to squat, to crouch 乌鸦 wū yā: crow depth down, to occupy illegally 抬着 tái zhe: to carry, to lift 字迹 zì jì: writing 西西里 xī xī lǐ: Sicily 翅膀 chì bǎng: wings 飞翔 fēi xiánɡ: to hover/ fly 广场 guǎng chǎng: piazza, plaza 跳来跳去 tiào lái tiào qù: to 蚕食 cán shí: to eat, to 黑手党 hēi shǒu dǎng: Mafia 乌合之众 wū hé zhī zhòng: mob, jump around trespass 老鼠 lǎo shǔ: rat, mouse 黑夜 hēi yè: black night motley crowd 尸体 shī tǐ: dead body, corpse 光明 ɡuānɡ mínɡ: light, 歌唱 ɡē chànɡ: to sing 乌云 wū yún: dark cloud, black brightness 永远 yǒnɡ yuan: forever 西装 xī zhuānɡ: suit 黑不过 hēi bù ɡuò: darker than cloud 棺材 guān cai: coffin 法院 fǎ yuan: court 上帝 shànɡ dì: god 喋喋不休 dié bù xiū: to talk 会议室 huì yì shì: conference 不敢 bù ɡǎn: don’t dare, not non stop room dare 天空 tiān kōng: sky, heaven 屁股 pì ɡu: butt, bum 公布 ɡōnɡ bù: announce 坏话 huài huà: unpleasant talk, 露出来 lù chū lái: exposed, bare 阴谋 yīn móu: secrete plot, 挡着 dǎng zhe: to hide, to bad language scheme, conspiracy 跛着腿 bǒ zhe tuǐ: limping 白昼 bái zhòu: daytime block 私处 sī chù: private parts 夜行者yè xíng zhě: nightwalker around

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