The Stagnant Ditch
Wen Yiduo

This is a ditch of hopeless, stagnant water
No breeze can ruffle;
Better throw in more junk and scrap,
Pour in slops and garbage.

Brass may take on an emerald patina,
Tin cans may rust in a pattern of peach petals;
Let scum weave a gauzy veil over the whole
And bacteria generate evening clouds.

Let the stagnant water ferment, become green wine,
Flecked with white foam like pearls;
The sniggering of small pearls makes large pearls
To be bitten and broken by bibulous mosquitoes.

Thus such a ditch of hopeless, stagnant water
May boast a certain novelty;
And if lonely frogs break the silence,
To all intents the stagnant water is singing.

This is a ditch of hopeless, stagnant water;
This, beyond doubt, is no abode of Beauty;
Better let the Demon of Ugliness plough it up
And see what he can make of it.