Tibet: A Hurried Farewell to Lhasa

I’ve just seen this translation of a poem by Woeser. I met Woeser several times when I lived in China.

She and her husband Wang Lixiong are writers and intellectuals, constantly treading the line between saying what they think and not getting into too much trouble with the Chinese authorities.

Woeser is half Tibetan and half Han Chinese, and is one of very few people who writes in Chinese criticising the government’s attitude to Tibet.

A Hurried Farewell to Lhasa

A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Now a city of fear.
A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Where the fear is greater than all the fear after ’59, ’69, and ’89 put together.

A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Where the fear is in your breathing, in the beating of your heart,
In the silence when you want to speak but don’t,
In the catch in your throat.
… Read the rest here.

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