Alive
Thursday, 18 May 2023
| Xiaoli Yang
if you still your heart
to hear the tales of ocean waves
if you lay your ear on a seashell
to learn the dance on a distant shore
if you open your eyes
and pay attention
to tiny stamens
with awe
if you sensitize your nose
and echo
moods of rainforests
with reverence
if you breathe in deeply
and caress gumtrees
with gratitude
if you lengthen your antennae
and receive outpourings of
divine love and beauty
every part of you
awakened
attuned
alive
生机
如果你安静你的心
聆听海浪的故事
如果你把耳朵贴近在贝壳上
在遥远的海岸学习舞蹈
如果你睁开眼睛
并留意风中
那轻微抖动微小的花蕊
抱着敬畏之心
如果你让鼻子灵锐
和雨林的情态
相呼应
怀着崇敬之肠
如果你深深地呼吸
抚爱星辉包裹的胶树
带着感激之情
如果你延长触角
并领受神圣的爱与美
倾盆降下
你的每一部分
觉醒
谐和
生机
Xiaoli Yang is an Australian Chinese theologian, pastor, spiritual director and bilingual poet. She serves as the president of the executive committee of the Australian Association for Mission Studies and the editorial board of Australian Journal of Mission Studies. Xiaoli has published widely, including her PhD monograph, A Dialogue between Haizi’s Poetry and the Gospel of Luke, and many works on intercultural theology, Asian hermeneutics, and Christian spirituality. She is currently a visiting scholar at the Overseas Ministries Studies Center at Princeton Theological Seminary.
You can also listen to this poem being read here.
