Like a larva holding on for transformation / Reading: Audrey Tang・Art: Saya Mitake
Channel: Saya Mitake
Date: 2021-02-17

This is a poem recited by Audrey Tang (Minister for Digital, Taiwan Government.). I received the audio data (CC0) from her. It was so beautiful that I'm sharing it here. The painting that accompanied the poem is of the famous Japanese cherry tree, Someiyoshino.

https://audreyt.org/

Like a larva holding on for transformation / Chen, Yi-Wen

I would like you to
firmly resist your weakness
like a chrysalis holding back a butterfly, a maple leaf resisting the autumn
a newly splashed
droplet resisting breakup
I would like you to
balance your inner beauty
like the structure of a snowflake, the four petals of a finger tree flower
a quatrain on a yellowed paper scroll:
“a still night, an empty spring mountain”
I would like you to
tolerate the secrets of a narcissus
forgive the twists of a moonlit river
look straight at the murky sky as rain falls down
just like listening to a naked prayer
like the ocean
embracing the absolution of a storm
Then, maybe you would be willing
to walk through a declining border town
through a prosperous metropolis
see life, see death
see all the bustle and transience
dignity and cold lifelessness
Sometimes, life is
as quietly beautiful as a poem, as desolate as a vine
as intense as a soaring eagle
as lonely as a dust-covered stele
And so time passes, places alter, faces change
it has been a long journey
we return to the room we set off from
origin and destination curl into a perfect ring
I shall recognize the look in your eyes after calibration:
clear, unswerving
like steel beads that do not rust
roundly, in a dark room
Reflecting pure light