To Be Elsewhere by Hsia Yü
To Be Elsewhere
Hsia YüWe met in a coastal village
spent a lovely night without leaving an address
going separate ways. Three years later
we meet again by coincidence.
The whole
three years spun a novel
we abandoned:
They fail to recognize themselves
as though meeting in another story
for an encounter.
One asks: Who are you, so cold and weary
The other says: I only know a thread is loose on my sweater
The more you pull it, the more it lengthens
until I completely vanish.
MARGINALIA
You said you didn’t want to risk it; you wanted to protect that life. I don’t know which hurts more: that you would never take the leap for me or that I am not part of what you desire to keep safe. Having loved you: oh, what of it, then.
ABOUT HSIA Yü
Hsia Yü (also Xia Yu) is the author of several volumes of poetry, most recently Pink Noise (2007). A founding editor of the Taiwanese avant-garde literary zine, Xianzai Shi (Poetry now), she currently resides in Taipei where she works as a lyricist and translator.
Read more poems by Hsia Yü • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
- Explore other works in pursuit of: distance • identity • loss • Or browse the index
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belle
Its a little sad for me that I can totally relate to this particular entry. I always feel like you and I are the same person living in different worlds.