One Leaf (by Yu Xian)

Yu Xian lives in Jinan, Shandong Province. In 2004 she was named "one of the top ten women poets" in China. Born in 1969 she is married to the poet and painter Lei Sun. -- DL

One Leaf

One leaf falls
All night long only one leaf has fallen
A leaf falls every night of every season of every year
Leaves are falling one at a time
Without a sound
Still falling and then falling down
Reaching the ground
As one who lives alone keeps living
And then dies alone

-- Yu Xian

translated by Fan Jinghua and David Lehman