大地 Dadi

by Dadi Chen

Why am I mean and arrogant?
Because of what I dedicated and experienced.
Because I’ve seen more talents than stars,
More brave Hearts than leaves of the Grass.
My shoulders were covered by more prints
Of taps of great Hands than grains of Sand.

I expedited the birth of a new country
With clanking hammers, gears and lathes.
I disposed of people’s illusions and ignorance,
And bestowed them freedom and colorful dreams
With unwavering faith, I roared from east to west,
Liberating all flesh from misery and poverty.

Old as a man I am, as my children,
Young and energetic (and they will always be).
Shouldn’t I leave them my dignified property,
And cherish with them our hard-won prosperity?
I am mean and arrogant, for what I’ve dedicated
And experienced, is to be inherited and flourished.

（composed in 2006, revised in 2014,
published in K. J. Head, P. Blessinger(Eds.), Teaching as a human experience: An anthology of contemporary poems. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.）