“My Feet Flow Into a River”

[若爾。諾爾]

“My Feet Flow Into a River”


Faraway, there is heaven
the soles of my shoes are getting thinner
I heard about a village of hope
a place God promised to Abraham
such a place can also be found here

Initially when I came to this promised land
I just wanted to have a scent of paradise
my rucksack is longing for the gold-plated knowledge
but didn’t know into where an ivy could climb
So I asked a swallow to bring back my homesickness

I stretched my toes to expand my vision
the Mississippi River gave me its promise
to search for an enduring dawn light
I swam across to the West and drifted back to the East
my feet flow into a river
wherever I arrived, I was hurt by all the promises
like a lonely sail is shaped into a ravine by the heavy rain
finally, I stood on the most fertile piece of land

I saw many eager eyes far away
they told me I had arrived in heaven
I spoke in an unfamiliar mother tongue
when my feet flowed into a river
I forgot where I rooted myself
in an undisclosed place,
I molded a water tower using sand
I made sculptures of imaginary legends
anything that rolled into the sea
I collected every drop of it
and waiting for a stormy day
to pop up a boat and sail toward
the distant eager eyes