TZEMIN ITION TSAI

TZEMIN ITION TSAI

THE SMOKE OF OUR OLD HOME

RISES CURLY

I squatted down in front of my grandfather

My grandfather was using that burning red hot iron

Branded the marks on the herds

All wrinkles on the face and white hairs on top of the head clearly visible

I asked him why that place where smoke spiraling at the foot of the mountain

No longer is our home

And was converted into an enemy barrack

He shook his head

A gleam of wry smile flickered across his lips

Pointed to the grass that way down the hill

Surrounded by the lakeshore below the valley

Like a carpet dotted with colored flowers

Did not miss any terrains

Did not stop in front of the lion's heels

Has been extended to the door of our home

That home we never go back to again

Although the mountain living

Those hidden rough stone road

Forging out my strong physical strength and will

Drinking the cold spring

Even let my throat have long forgotten what sweet taste of jujube

Before I can’t return to our old home and ignite a thriving kitchen fire

I ride on horseback lead the bow toward the sky

Attempt to shoot down the brightest star in the sky

 

THE NAPPING OLD CAT

That old lane after a long time for renovation

A stunning new look appears

One million years of indifference

Those cracked floor tiles in yellowed clothes

The moss trying to climb up the wall

All were eradicated

Obviously

Got a fair compromise with time

After wearing new color coats

Finally, it could radiantly talk with the walls on both sides

Only that old cat squatting on the wall under the afternoon sun

Continued to nap

That kind of silent look

Just waiting

To see

How long can you stay bright?

 

MEDITATE IN THE FOOTHILLS OF ADWA

Rode on the wings of time

Thoughts over the barriers caused by that distance

Listen to the whistling mountain breeze call on the plateau

The story of more than 1300 years old told me

The battle began with Religious conversion

Churches and blockhouses were excavated on top of the mountain

Apparently stand like a phantom on sinister land

The Red Sea did not block me

Forge an alliance with the Roman Empire

"Gate of Tears" the Mandab Strait

In addition to connecting the Gulf of Aden

It also connects my faith in Jesus Christ

Ignore the sinister terrain and muddy rocks of the fairway

Shouting bursts of lion-like roars

Sighs from across the coast of Alexandria

Under the Arabian self-assertion

Time and space

Echoed the reality of the international arena

When Ge'ez and Obelisk are combined into World Heritage

Should I categorically accept?

Tombstone and the death of history

TZEMIN ITION TSAI

 

Dr. TZEMIN ITION TSAI(蔡澤民博士)  was born in Taiwan, Republic of China, in 1957. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and two Masters of Science in Applied Mathematics and Chemical Engineering. He is a scholar with a wide range of expertise, while maintaining a common and positive interest in science, engineering and literaturemember. In addition to being a university professor and freelance writer. Dr. Tsai is not just an accomplished poet, he is an essayist, novelist, columnist, editor, translator, academic, engineer, mathematician, and so many other things. His literary creation specializes and expertise in the description of nature, the anatomy of emotion and humanity, life writing, graphic writing, cross-domain writing and so on. He has carried out a number of educational research with the development of teaching materials in his country. He has won many national literary awards. In addition to his own country, his literary works have been anthologized and published in books, journals, and newspapers in more than 40 countries and  have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Dr. Tzemin Ition Tsai is an associate professor in Asia University(Taiwan), editor of “Reading, Writing and Teaching” academic text. He also writes the long-term columns for Chinese Language Monthly in Taiwan. Many famous poets of the world through his Chinese translations and introductions were able to be recognized by the people of Taiwan.