Jeff, Tân Chhiu-pek / 陳秋白

Jeff, Tân Chhiu Pek（b. 1963）is a descendant of Pepo-Siraya tribe. He has won several poetry prizes and published his poetry books “The Green Sea”, “When the Wind Shakes the Autumn's Grassland”, as well as translations in Taiwanese and English, “The Battle Map──Contemporary Selected Poetry from the Middle East Women Poets” and “Under North Wind ──100 selected poems by Jing-Lian”.

E-mail：jeffpoem@seed.net.tw

        Excerpt from “When the Wind Shakes the Autumn's Grassland” /

         摘自《當風佇秋天的草埔吹起》

        XIII

Your soul is

a chosen landscape

the transparent wings

in one ancient dusk

fluttered, the weak airstream

as a spirit moved the wheel of time

to pass by the shore of sadness,

to overstride the dream of birds,

then awakens the memory of modern butterflies

perching on the flumes of Takau Hill and Twin Rivers.

And before we raise our heads,

the butterflies have fled them to become a galaxy

among branches of trees.

        XV

Through countless years of breakups and deaths,

the salt in the dense fog

was brought from the sea

or the exploitation of salt basking.

The green sugarcane leaf

has lost its mana in the faith to spellbind the Hiòng-hûn*¹,

the immortal souls melted in crude salt

were arrested in the ship about to set sail

like numberless ranks of youth

to be carted away.

The historical traces

as the light fades away in the dark clouds,

the time never turns its head

for the sobbing young girl

who has passed by and walked far away.

On an autumn morning,

the dry branches of trees

cough coldly ever so often.

Note：*¹ the lost souls.

        My Kid Plays A Violin / 我的囡仔Ghiú-著小提琴

I know this landscape is nonexistent

The wind flows out of the sky

Making pitter-patter of rain

In the drumming woods

My kid plays a violin

Snow melts on the distant hill

The rose weeps on the arid land

In the darkroom, the stars faded,

Wars on the screen never cease

My kid plays a violin

Brakes the silvery string

Look！blood has oozed from the wall.