THE RIVER THAT WOULD NEVER SEE THE SEA

The Yanzhi River would never see the sea

neither would my father

Oftentimes, the river was lackadaisical

getting excited only after a storm

I once asked my father: Where will it reach?

He shook his head, and then pointed to the sky

I deliberated over his reaction for many years

Years later I returned from the sea

As I sat alone at the floodgates of the spillway

waves were chasing one another after the storm

In their crashing sounds I recalled

my father’s reaction

When he shook his head I was clueless

When I lifted my head in misty rain I saw him

waving hard to me from the riverbank