Rice Straw Sheaths of rice straw Left in deserted fields Tremble in a dry wind Under a not so warm Yet not so cold afternoon sun The old people of my village wither away In crumbling courtyards The old people of my village finally becoming The sheaths of rice straw Who remembers They once flourished, blossomed and bore grain The life and fate of rice straw Is the story of everyone in my village (1972) One Kilometer of Coastline Another development memo Orders the saws to mow down Thousands of trees, felling them one after another The seabirds have no place to perch They can't speak, all they can do is clamor Circling in the darkening light of dusk Another stretch of coastline Instantly loses a screen With an opening, the wind-whipped sand Engulfs a run-down fishing village Every sigh from my coastal Cities and villages, set sadly adrift Becomes a thirsty longing For a kilometer-long stretch of coastline Windbreaks to withstand the wind and dryness They spread dense roots to hold the sand in place Wave green branches Like green scarves blowing in the wind Blocking the cold wind from the sea O, if only a kilometer-long stretch of shoreline Windbreaks, green and luxuriant Can work in concert with the green mountains To protect the environment of this lovely isle (1999) Translations © John Balcom