Searching for Light

By Yao Feng

Translated from Portuguese by Julia Sanches

A moth, a light, and a universal yearning feature in Yao Feng’s contemplative poem.

August 1, 2018

Macau

The light retires to the lamp
and suddenly all is dark again
who out there has caught the night-moth
and instructs it in shadow?

After countless drills
the torn-winged moth
no longer knows how to fly
and trails through the twilight
crawling snail-slow
toward the light.

The light retires to the lamp
and suddenly all is dark again
who out there has caught the night-moth
and instructs it in shadow?

After countless drills
the torn-winged moth
no longer knows how to fly
and trails through the twilight
crawling snail-slow
toward the light.

Yao Feng was born in Beijing but now lives in Macau, where he is an associate professor in the Portuguese Department of the University of Macau.

Julia Sanches is a translator and cofounder of Cedilla & Co.