This poem is part of a series produced via a partnership with the George Town Literary Festival, an annual literary festival taking place this year between November 24 and 27 in George Town, Penang, Malaysia.

Spring, seized,
turned into swallows.

Swallows, caged,
turned into clamors.

Clamors, silenced,
turned into scenery.

Scenery, covered up,
turned into eyes.

Eyes, forced shut,
turned into dreams.

Dreams, denied,
turned into maps.

Maps, destroyed,
turned into memories.

Memories, deleted,
turned into roads.

Roads, blockaded,
turned into ancillary legs.

Legs, smashed,
turned into wings.

Wings, clipped,
turned into breeze.

Breeze, detained,
turned into storm.

Storm, imprisoned,
spawned a million offspring.

Those offspring are our
inbreath & outbreath—

swallows in & out of
our nostrils—

our spring

From the anthology Picking Off New Shoots Will Not Stop the Spring. © Nga Ba. Translation © 2022 ko ko thett. By arrangement with the editor. All rights reserved.