Poetry

Steve Webel photo

 

By

Hongri Yuan

 

 

 

Golden Giant

 

 

Who is sitting in heaven and staring at me?

Who is sitting in the golden palace of tomorrow?

Who is smilling?

The golden staff in his hand

Flashing the dazzling light

Ah, the flashes of lightning

Interweaved over my head

I walked into a crystal corridor of the time

I want to open

The doors of gold

Lines of words in the sun

Singing to me in the sky

I want to find

The volumes of gold poems

On the shores of the new century

To build the city of gold

 

Laozi with rosy cheek and white hair

Smiling at me in the clouds

A phoenix danced trippingly

And carried in a book of gold

 

Lines of mysterious words

Made my eyes drunken

Countless giant figures

Came towards me from the clouds

 

The times of seventy million years

Emerged leisurely before my eyes

The cities of gold

Surrounded with the crystals garden

 

The sky of sapphire

Sent out the colorful miraculous brightness

On the green hills of jasper

Dragons and phoenixes were flying

 

Exquisite pagoda

Majestical palace of gold

The airy pavilions and pagodas

Standing in the purple-red clouds

 

The laughing girls

Riding the colorful husbands and wifes

The propitious clouds

Sprinkling the colorful flowers

 

I opened the door to a golden palace

Saw the rows of scrolls of the gold

A giant with the haloes all over his body

There were a golden sun over his head

 

With smiles, he picked up the books of gold

Recited the sacred verses

I was intoxicated with miraculous wonderful words

Surrounded with the purple-gold flames all over his body

 

A golden lotus

Bloomed beneath my feet

Lifted up my body

Wafted up from the golden palace

 

The red clouds

Drifting by my side

Outside of the sky I saw

Another golden paradise

 

The leisurely bells

Calling to me

The countless giants

Roaming in a golden garden

 

The sky of the ruby

The rounds of sun

Like the golden lotus

Blooming in the sky

 

The intoxicating fragrance of flowers

Like the sweet good wine

The golden trees

Were laden with the dazzling diamonds

 

The wonderful flowers

Bloomed for the housands of years

The land of gold

Inlaid with the gems

 

The pavilions of gold

Strewn at random and overlapped

Someone was playing chess

Someone was chatting

 

Quaint clothes

Colossal statures

Miraculous eyes

Happy and comfortable

 

The white cranes

Flying in the sky

The husbands and wifes

Crowing leisurely

 

Beside the old man I came

As if he was waiting for me

On the golden pavilion

He opened an ancient sword casket

 

A glittering ancient sword

Engraved some abstruse words and expressions

Which were clear and transparent like a lightning

Dimly glowed purplish-red patterns

 

He told me a metaphysical epic

The sword came from nine billions years ago

Which, was made from hundreds of millions of suns

It was a sacred sword of the sun

 

It could pierce the rocks of time

Open the layer after layer skies

Let the sacred fire smelt the heaven and the earth

Into the golden paradises

 

The old man’s eyes were deep, archaic and abstruse

Dimly shone the joyful flames

He let me take this sword

To fly towards a new golden paradise

The huge golden lotus floated leisurely

I flew over the sky thousands of miles away

The huge pyramids

Loomed impressively in front of my eyes

 

The mountainous figure of giants

Walked about in front of the pyramid

The huge pyramids of gold

Were much taller than the mountains

 

The giant trees of gold

Like a forest

Stood in the sky

Laden with the stars

 

The multicoloured propitious clouds

Was a huge bird

In the silvery sky

Crowing joyfully

 

I came to the front of a pyramid

A door was opening wide to me

A group of blond giants

Sitting with smiles in the grand palace

 

A holy great old man

Reciting the singular language in his mouth

The temple was painted with the magical symbols

And the giant pictures of Gods

 

The palace was full of silvery white light

Blooming th huge wonderful flowers

A peal of wonderful mellifluous bells

Made the person suddenly forget all of the time

 

I heard an immemorial verse

Tt was written hundreds of millions of years ago

Related countless eras of giants

Created the holy kingdoms of heaven

 

Their wisdom was sacred and great

Knew completely the past and the future of the universe

They flew freely in the sky

Landed on the millions of planets in the universe

 

They made the time change as your pleasure

Which could reach another spaces

Make a stone turn into a gold

Make the gold bloom flowers

 

They were like the rounds sun

Which could erupt the sacred flames

Let all things blaze in raging flames

Turn into their imagination works

 

They landed on the planets

Established the golden paradises

With their magic abstruse wisdom

Builted the platinum cities

 

I saw the gorgeous words

Flashing in the volume of gold

And the magical wonderful halos

Rotating like the colored lightning in the sky

 

I came to another wonderful heaven and earth

And saw a huge edifice of platinum

The whole city was like a piece of work

Sending out quietly the brilliant white light

 

A huge round square

Enchased some unearthly works

The giants of great stature

Came and went leisurely in the street

 

They wore singular clothes

Shone all over their bodies

With smiles on their face

Both men and women looked beautiful

 

They spoke the wonderful language

Which was as intriguing and pleasant as the music

Some of them run by spaceship

Flying around silently in the sky

 

I walked into a huge edifice of platinum

Saw a magnificent hall

Platinum wall was inlaid with gems

And there were also a row of unusual instruments

 

Their eyes were like bright springs

Wore the multicoloured clothes

Some of them were operating struments there

Some of them were talking with each other softly there

 

I saw a magical picture

Drew the giant planets

Stood the cities on those planets

And there were aslo the crystal gardens

 

I opened a crystal door

Saw a group of happy men and women

They were singing softly

The blinking books of gold were in their hands

 

Both the clusters of flower and the glasses of golden wine

Were on the huge round table

The golden walls were sparkling

Carved with all kinds of wonderful pictures

 

I saw a demure girl

The golden halo was sparkling on her head

She dressed a purple-gold longuette

Which was as peerless as a sculpture

 

The pages were marked with whimsical words

Like lines of ancient magic symbols

Each book was made of gold

And it was also like a golden crystal

 

I understood their euphonious songs

They were singing the sacred love

They were singing great ancestors

They were recounting the civilization of the universe

 

Their city was garden everywhere

Surrounded with the sweet rivers

The whole earth was a piece of jade

And the clay was a layer of transparent sand of the gold

 

I saw some white-bright huge balls

Suspended high above the city

The giant balls were sending out dazzling light

Shone the heaven and the earth as bright as the crystal

 

The towering great buildings stood in great numbers

As if they were carved by a whole piece of platinum

Both the doves and some colorful birds

Were flying in the sky

 

I saw a singular train

Flying swiftly forward in the sky

The streets were white and bright

And any moving vehicle could not been seen

 

Their bodies were unusually strong

Playing a wonderful game

They piled up the pieces of great stones

Into some grotesque works

 

Both like some giant eyes

And some ancient totems

There were also some strange birds

Covered with lightning feathers all over their bodies

 

I saw a couple of tall lovers

They aviated a spaceship

Their eyes were quiet and bright

Shone colorful halo around their bodies

 

The wonderful space was gyrating leisurely

Like a huge, resplendent crystal

I said goodbye to the unusual city

Towards a space of golden light

 

The cities flashed in the sky

I flew over the layers of the sky again

And I saw a newfangled world

The multicoloured city of crystal

 

The high towers were exquisitely carved

Shone the multicoloured pearls

The layers of eave were painted with dragon and phoenix

Hung the singing golden bells

 

The earth was a crystal garden

The palaces were limpid and crystal

Huge mountains were like a transparent gem

Lined with the golden trees

 

I saw the tall giants

Wore the purple clothes

There were a round sun on their heads

The body also shone a layer of halo

 

They sat up in the main halls

Singing a mellifluous song

Some were roaming leisurely in the garden

Some were summoning the birds in the sky

 

The crystalline airy pavilions and pagodas

Were beset with jewels and agates

A huge jewel on the spir

Shining the golden lights

 

I saw a holy giant

Sitting in the middle of a main hall

The purple-gold flame were flashed around his body

And filled with the whole majestic main hall

 

Full-bodied fragrance filled the hall

Like a cup of refreshing wine

Solemn expression was merciful and joyful

A huge book was on his hand

 

The hall was full of mens and womens

Listening quietly to the psalms of the saints

The lotuses were floating in the sky

Where the smiling giants sat

 

The golden light were poured down from the sky

Bathed in the whole crystal kingdom

Those jewels above the giant towers

Were just the golden suns

 

The golden walls of a golden tower

Were carved with lines of flashing words I saw

Flying around the dragons and phoenixes

As if they were intonating the inspiring poems

 

The smiling giants in the sky

A huge halo were aslo flashing around their bodies

Each of them was both dignified and tranquil

Floating in the golden transparent sky

 

I flew over the crystal kingdom

And saw the vast golden mountain in the distance

Sending out the brilliant lights in the sky

Where the propitious clouds were blossoming

 

That was a golden giant

Sitting in the golden transparent sky

His body was composed of thousands of millions of constellations

The golden sun was rotating on his forehead

 

He lit up the whole marvellous universe

The kingdoms of heaven shone in the sky

Here there was no the sky and the earth

The up-down four-direction were the lights of pure gold

 

The smiling giants were sitting

On the gold-engraved pavilions

The pavilions levitated in the transparent sky

Shining the layers of purple-gold light

 

The multicoloured transparent mountains

As if the propitious clouds were floating in the sky

The large wonderful flowers were blooming in the mountain peaks

And there were also trees of light

 

A river flowed from the sky

And the river bottom reflected a layer of golden sand

Some strange and beautiful birds and the beasts

Also were like some aerial phantoms

 

This was a world of light

Everything was made of light

The divine light formed all things

And the golden paradises

 

The golden giant I saw

Shining the kingdoms of heaven in his body

I saw the cities of gold

Which were brilliant and fascinating in his bones

 

I saw lines of extremely large words

Arranged into a huge book in the sky

It seemed as if they were the bright stars

Constituted a wonderful drawing

 

There was a golden pavilion in the sky

Flying around with huge dragons and phoenixes

An old man with the whisk

Waved to me and smiled in the pavilion

 

I seem to be attracted by magical attraction

Leisurely came to his side

He told me the golden giant

Was namely my great ancestor

 

This was an eternal palace

There’s noso-called time

Holy light was exactly the God

What I saw was better than the heaven

 

He pointed to the huge book in the sky

And told me that was the mystery of the universe

The book contained magical wisdom

Created the countless worlds of gold

 

He pointed to a pagoda in the sky

Told me that was the temple of words

The light turned into the sacred words

And the words created the time of gold

 

He held up a very large pearl

In which flashed the pictures

He told me that it was the future time

That was all of the wonderful worlds

 

He told me that it was another universe

I still want to go to the paradises

He gave me the magical pearl

Let it be my future guide

 

I said goodbye to the holy old man

I set foot on a new road of the heaven again

I sat in a golden pavilion

Lightly flew to the distant outer space

 

 

Translated by Yuanbing Zhang

 

 

 

 

 

Hongri Yuan

Hongri Yuan, born in China in 1962, is a poet and philosopher interested particularly in creation. Representative works include Platinum City, Gold City, Golden Paradise, Gold Sun and Golden Giant.