At last, I stand before thee

Like a young butterfly fresh from its cocoon

Rejoicing, my eyes glinting with starlight

Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei) is internationally acclaimed bilingual writer and poet, and the only female inheritor of Dongba Culture

Lan Xin (Lanxin Samei) is an internationally acclaimed bilingual writer, poet and translator, member of the Chinese Writers Association. The only female inheritor of UNESCO-listed Dongba Culture, International Disseminator of Dongba Culture and practitioner of Chinese culture’s global outreach. Winner of the Italian Francesco Giampietri International Literary Award, President of Lanxin Samei Academy and Dean of Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy.

Love Fated at the Potala Palace

At last, I stand before thee

Like a young butterfly fresh from its cocoon

Rejoicing, my eyes glinting with starlight

Dost thou know? Long e’er this moment

I have turned to gaze at thee a thousand times

Thou hast, in truth, stood lofty in my heart all along

Yet thou art so grand, so towering

I feared my slender fingers could not twirl the prayer wheel

I feared the highland could not bear my lonely cold

I feared I might fall short of thy ageless vow

So to thee

I could but gaze in awe, never dare draw nigh

And thus I waited

For a mighty eagle

To bestow me strength

To lead me to thy side

At last, I stand before thee

The moment I step upon thy halls

A flame of hope surges in my breast

My heart

Is like the blazing starry firmament

Abloom with hues of radiant light

Blossoms of grace and rapture

Burst forth in my heart’s sky, like glowing neon flames

In this hour

I no longer keep my reverent distance

I have at last drawn close to thee

In this hour

All fear is gone from me

For

A mighty eagle

Doth lend me its strength

Interpretation

This poem traces the emotional journey of approaching the Potala Palace, depicting the transformation from yearning with awe and hesitation to finally drawing near fearlessly. With metaphors of a young butterfly and a mighty eagle, and Tibetan symbols like the prayer wheel and the highland, it weaves the poet’s reverence, hope and eagerness for the Potala Palace into every line. It lays bare the anxiety of venturing alone to the highland, and more vividly expresses the relief and resolve of embracing the sacred land and hearting the light, empowered by love and strength.

***

To the Angel

Angel, what is it, what bids you fall to the mortal world?

What is it, what makes you cling to this earthly dust?

Angel, what is it, what breaks your wings in twain?

What is it, what fills your eyes with tears?

Angel, you once soared on wings,

Striking the blissful chord;

You once blinked eyes like autumn rills,

Holding bright wishes in their glow;

You once outstretched your arms,

Scattering sunlight all the way.

Yet on that pitch-black cold night,

A deafening crack rent the sky—

I saw your blood-stained wings,

Your broken heart entwined.

Angel, do you blame your hasty leap to the world?

Do you regret the reckless moth’s flight to the flame?

This mortal world of strife was never yours,

The past like wispy smoke, gone in a blink.

Only the trace of your flight remains—

A crystal heart-lantern,

Spilling radiance o’er the ground,

Like your glistening tears.

Interpretation

This poem addresses an angel with tender inquiries, lamenting its fall to the mortal world: broken wings, tearful sorrow, and the shattering of its once blissful existence in a bleak cold night. It wonders if the angel regrets its hasty descent, yet reminds that mortal strife was never its load. The past fades like smoke, but the trace of its flight lingers as a crystal heart-lantern, spilling radiance like its glistening tears—its pure light enduring through fragility and loss.

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Read: Spring Melody – Poetry from China