In Your Room

By Wang Jiaxin

Translated from Chinese by Arthur Sze

Poet Wang Jiaxin considers the self and its private and public reflections. The poem appears in The Silk Dragon II: Translations of Chinese Poetry, edited and translated by Arthur Sze and published by Copper Canyon Press.

April 11, 2024

China

Black-and-white photo of people walking in Beijing

Photo by Hennie Stander on Unsplash

In your room, whatever you hang on your wall—
an image of a horse, a picture of the masters,
or even a sketch of St. Petersburg—
will become your self-portrait.

And on the street you walk, whatever you look at,
whichever tree, or whatever kind of person
you encounter, you too are one of them . . .
you, then, have no basis to be self-righteous.

In your room, whatever you hang on your wall—
an image of a horse, a picture of the masters,
or even a sketch of St. Petersburg—
will become your self-portrait.

And on the street you walk, whatever you look at,
whichever tree, or whatever kind of person
you encounter, you too are one of them . . .
you, then, have no basis to be self-righteous.