“The City of Gold” by Hongri Yuan. Translated by Manu Mangattu

Image provided by Hongri YuanFirst, here is the English translation by Manu Mangattu.

The City of Gold

Ah! Into a pleasant hallway of gold
Thou did the crystal of the sky mould.
A shining City of Gold
Chanting unto me from far afield.
Into the golden gate I strode
A palace colossal to behold.
Without, a soaring Tower did dazzle
A towering wondrous Grand Castle.
It seemed to the past a billion years I travelled.
Perchance, a primal giant my eyes beheld;
In the breeze his sleeves fluttered.
A transparent golden Robe uncluttered;
The appearance was holy, hallowed.
With a sweet smile they bellowed
As tall as a mountain they loomed
But as light as birds they seemed.

Into a golden palace I sauntered
To regard the sacred giant
His body was like the Sun
Enveloped by a golden flame.

In the hall at the centre he sat
Where bloomed many a huge lotus
Some golden giants too were there
Sitting on the lotus flaunting a smile.

In that Grand Palace studded with gems
Hung an enormous mould of gold;
A mellifluous song lulled all along
Rumbling like thunder, causing concussion.

On the front wall I saw engraved
In a noble script, an impressive word;
Resplendent and magnificent, the whole palace
Was filled with fragrance – wonderful, intoxicating.

Clouds with golden wings
Were flying over: all a mirage
A blossoming thrice wonderful
Blooming in the garden outside the temple.

I saw a towering Castle
Like a mountain, upright in the sky
Brilliant design, gorgeous styling
As if God had built it Himself

Colourful gems shine like a mosaic,
A medley of all kinds of strange drawing;
A round gold tower
Like a forest stands in space.

A broad circular Gallery then I saw
Surrounded by the golden castle
Each column was as high as ten thousand meters
Carving out numerous exquisite images.

I walked into a great hall,
I saw some huge statues
Like a group of golden giants
Smiling unto me.

I crossed a huge arch
Into a golden hall
To see a huge picture
Hung on the hall wall.

Each portrait of a transparent flash
Could draw a Golden Paradise
As if a three-dimensional space
Magically unfolded before thine eyes

I heard mysterious music
Which made my heart take wings
A huge picture of the holy girl
On a plucked instrument was manifest.

She sat in a huge palace
A giant circle around the ring seat
Every giant smiled and smiled
Curling around a golden flame

This girl's elegant posture
Wearing a golden dress
Body shining like a huge halo
Resembling the head of a golden sun.

A huge palace like a fortress
Outside the temple was the endless Garden
Flying golden feather bird
The garden with its pavilions, terraces, and open halls

A blossoming of the wondrous exotic
Giving out an intoxicating fragrance
Like a sweet girl
With her model of elegant charm

A sparkling waterfall
Circling along from the hill
As a crystal emerald
Haunting this amazing Garden.

A group of boys and girls:
Dressed in bright and colourful clothes
Some would sit and rest in the Pavilion
Some would walk in the flowers, in the game.

I saw a huge old man
Sitting in a red cloud.
Only a crane flew around
And there was a huge Phoenix.

Another city in the sky
Far from the golden light
At a grand chic
The sky stood in layers

I seemed to hear the call of the divine
The old man came leisurely.
He lifted a huge golden book
And a kind of novel language I heard spoken

I saw a great line of words
Like a row of golden giants
They turned into a ray of light, and,
Suddenly flew into my chest.

My body was sweet and happy
The moment turned momentous
The sacred old man stood beside me
His smile filled the air of the city.

I became a golden giant
Beckoned back to the golden castle
Then came a giant
Who smiled and called out my name

Our bodies were just as big
We were like twin brothers
And Lo! This huge golden castle
Seemed to belong to us.

All on a sudden I saw a vision
I too was a holy giant
In every palace in the city of gold
I too had left my glad imprints.

3.18 .1998


Here is the poem in Chinese by Chinese poet Hongri Yuan.

黄金城市

远红日

天空的水晶啊
你化成金色的长廊
一座黄金的城市
在远方向我歌唱
我跨进了那座黄金的城门
看到了一座座巨大的宫殿
一座座高耸天外的巨塔
一座座巍峨宏大的城堡
我仿佛来到了亿万年前
看到了一个个远古的巨人
他们的衣袖啊随风飘飘
仿佛是金色透明的袈裟
他们的容颜神圣庄严
又含着甜蜜动人的微笑
他们的身体高大如山岳
却像鸟儿一般轻巧

我走进一座黄金的宫殿
见到一位神圣的巨人
他的身体像一轮太阳
环绕一层层金色的火焰

他端坐在这座大殿的中央
周围盛开巨大的金莲
一些金光闪耀的巨人
微笑地坐在莲花之上

宏大的金殿嵌满宝石
悬挂一幅幅巨大的金像
一种甜蜜悦耳的歌声
像雷鸣一般轰轰震荡

我看到一行行巨大的词语
刻满了大殿正面的金壁
整座大殿宏伟辉煌
弥漫着奇妙醉人的芳香

一只只翅翼如云的金鸟
飞满了这座金殿的上空
一朵朵巨大绚丽的奇葩
盛开在这座殿外的花园

我看到一座巍峨的城堡
像一座山岳挺立云霄
绝妙的设计华丽的造型
仿佛是上帝亲手建成

五彩的宝石熠熠闪耀
镶嵌出种种奇异的画图
一座座圆形的黄金巨塔
像一座座森林矗立太空

一条宽广的圆形长廊
环抱着这座黄金城堡
每一根圆柱都高达万米
雕刻出无数精美的图像

我走进了一座圆形巨厅
看到一些巨大的雕像
仿佛一群黄金的巨人
正在向我迷人地微笑

我跨过一座巨大的拱门
走进一座金色的大厅
看到一幅幅巨大的画像
挂满了这座大厅的金壁

每一副画像透明闪光
画出一座座黄金乐园
仿佛一个个立体空间
神奇地展现在你的眼前

我听到一阵玄妙的音乐
令我的心儿怦然而动
一副巨画中的圣洁少女
正在弹拨着一种乐器

她坐在一座巨大的金殿
周围环座着一圈圈巨人
每一个巨人都欢喜微笑
周围缭绕着金色的火焰

这少女的身姿端庄优雅
穿着一件金色的裙裳
身体闪放巨大的光环
头顶一轮金色的太阳

巨大的金殿像一座皇宫
殿外是一望无际的花园
空中飞翔金羽毛的大鸟
园里是一座座楼阁亭台

一朵朵巨大闪光的奇葩
悠悠飘出醉人的芳香
仿佛一个个芬芳的少女
现出各种优雅的风姿

一条光芒闪闪的瀑布
从一座金山上飘然洒落
化成一条晶莹的玉带
萦绕着这座神奇的花园

一群群欢笑的少男少女
穿着绚丽多彩的衣裳
有的在亭台上静坐休憩
有的在花丛中漫步游戏

我看到一位巨大的老人
端坐在一朵红云之上
周围飞翔着一只只白鹤
还有一只只巨大的凤凰

天空闪耀另一座城市
远远发出金色的光芒
一座座宏大别致的金殿
层层叠叠矗立在天上

我仿佛听到神圣的召唤
悠然来到了老者的身边
他托起一部巨大的金书
念诵着一种新奇的语言

我看到一行行巨大的词语
仿佛一排排金色的巨人
他们化成一道道光芒
倏然飞入了我的胸膛

我的身体甜美欢喜
一瞬间变得异常巨大
我身边那位神圣的老人
微笑着飘入空中的城市

我变成了一个金色的巨人
回到了那座黄金的城堡
这时走过来一位巨人
微笑着呼喊我的名字

我们的身体同样巨大
仿佛是一对孪生兄弟
这座巨大的黄金城堡
仿佛本属于我们自己

我恍然看到了一幅幅画面
我原本是一位神圣的巨人
这黄金之城的每一座宫殿
都曾留下过我快乐的足迹

1998.3.18 北京

Copyright © 2026 Hongri Yuan. Translator, Manu Mangattu
All Rights Reserved

About the Poet

Hongri Yuan (born 1962) is a renowned Chinese mystic, poet, and philosopher. His work has been published in the UK, USA, India, New Zealand, Canada, and Nigeria; his poems have appeared in Poet’s Espresso Review, Orbis, Tipton Poetry Journal, Harbinger Asylum, The Stray Branch, Acumen, Pinyon Review, Taj Mahal Review, Madswirl, Shot Glass Journal, Amethyst Review, Fine Lines, and other e-zines, anthologies, and journals. His best-known works are “Platinum City” and “Golden Giant”. His works explore themes of prehistoric and future civilizations.

About the Translator 

Manu Mangattu is an English Professor, poet, editor, director, and rank-holder. He has published 7 books, 73 research articles, and 36 conference papers, apart from 14 edited volumes with ISBNs. He serves as chief editor/editor for various international journals. He has completed UGC-funded projects and a SWAYAM MOOC course (Rs 15 lakhs). Besides translations from Chinese and Sanskrit, he writes poetry in English and in Indian languages. He was named “Comrade to Poetry China” in 2016. A visiting faculty member at various universities and a quintessential bohemian vagabond, he conducts poetry readings, workshops, and lectures when inspired. After an apprenticeship in Shakespeare under Dr. Stephen Greenblatt, he currently guides 23 research scholars and mentors NET English aspirants.

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“when we discover time”: A Collaboration by Helen Pletts and Ma Yongbo

Photo by Israyosoy S. on Pexels.comwhen we discover time
当我们发现时间时

she is a red envelope full of white moths
in their stirred white dust, the phone torch
drives them into the beam. Black is rising
and the red envelope in shrinking.

Sunscapes cross, Harbin attaches gold to the clouds
opening a pearl shell,
while the red envelope is starting to seal
her edges, gold spreads his iridescence.

The moon has to choose who to visit
in the photos the poetess can not find her,
so the moon must be with the poet.

When she finally appears, she is a sliver of gold shell,
hovering until the red closes.

31st July 2025

By Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨

Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波

当我们发现时间时
when we discover time

她是个装满白蛾的红包
在它们扬起的白色粉尘中，手机电筒
将它们驱入光束。黑暗在蔓延
红包在收缩。

日景交错，哈尔滨给云朵镀上金边
打开一枚珍珠贝，而红包
开始封住边缘，金色铺开虹彩。

月亮得选择去拜访谁
女诗人在照片里找不到她，
所以月亮一定和诗人在一起。

当她最终出现，她成了金贝壳的一条裂片，
盘旋着，直到红色合拢。

2025年7月31日海伦·普莱茨

Copyright © 2026 Helen Pletts and Ma Yongbo
All Rights Reserved

Ma Yongbo was born in 1964, holds a Ph.D., is a representative of Chinese avant-garde poetry, and is a leading scholar of Anglo-American poetry. He is the founder of polyphonic writing and objectified poetics. He is also the first translator to introduce British and American postmodern poetry into Chinese.

He has published over eighty original works and translations since 1986, including 10 of his own poetry collections. He focused on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose, including the work of Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Amy Lowell, Williams, and Ashbery. He has published a complete translation of Moby Dick, which has sold over 600,000 copies. The Collected Poems of Ma Yongbo (four volumes, Eastern Publishing Centre, 2024), comprising 1178 poems, celebrates 40 years of writing poetry.

Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 www.helenpletts.com is the English co-translator of Chinese poet Ma Yongbo, who is her official Chinese translator. She is a member of the CB1 Poetry committee, the monthly poetry reading event held in Cambridge. Her work is translated into Chinese, Bangla, Greek, Vietnamese, Serbian, Korean, Arabic, Italian, Albanian, and Romanian. Helen and Ma Yongbo are joint creators of the Volumes of the ongoing ‘Ma Yongbo Poetry Road Trip – Summer Tour 2025’, for International Times.IT. The first bilingual poetry book of Helen Pletts and Ma Yongbo, ‘Night Shining-White,’ is to be published in 2026 by Open Shutter Press.

Her poetry has five shortlistings for the Bridport Poetry Prize (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024), two longlistings for The Rialto Nature & Place Prize (2018, 2022), a longlisting for the Ginkgo Prize (2019), a longlisting for the National Poetry Competition (2022), 2nd Prize in the Plaza Prose Poetry Competition (2022-23), and a shortlisting for the Plaza Prose Poetry Competition (2023-24).

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“Now My Father Is” by Steffen Horstmann Translated into Urdu by Saltanat Qaiser

Photo by Daniyar Kaliyev on Pexels.comNow My Father Is

My father used to lie for hours
In the shade of a great Laurel oak,
With each breath he felt his life
Escaping him.
Now my father lives only in the poems
I write or in dreams.
In a poem about peaches I kept him alive
By describing a walk
Through peach groves, how he said the fruit
Was “stained with twilight, filled
With the taste of the sun.” In a dream
I wrote a poem onto a wall of air
With paint so thick the words
Cast shadows on the ground.
I beckoned my father to that place, to lie
In the shadows of my words, be filled
With their meaning. When he appeared he said
He preferred the shadows of trees,
To lie in them completely emptied of meaning
& wait for the wind

To sway the branches, feel the brief sunlight
Upon his body.
Now my father is rowing a canoe through
The ink of my poems,
Down a canyon river where soon he’ll stop
At the water’s edge, lie
In the tall grass beneath a large oak.
He’ll open his eyes
For the last time & see ferns splayed
Under the high yellow sycamores,
The sun casting a gold light on the water,
& in the distance eagles
Gliding to the curve of the canyon, slowly
Turning the pages of the sky.

This poem received a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2007 and was originally published in Freshwater.

Copyright © 2026 Steffen Horstmann
All Rights Reserved

Now enjoy the translation into Urdu by Saltanat Qaiser.

اب میرے بابا

میرے بابا گھنٹوں شاہ بلوط کے
قدیم پیڑ تلے سستاتے تھے
یہ محسوس کرتے ہوۓ کہ
ان کی ہر سانس انہیں زندگی سے دور کرتی جا رہی ہے
اب میرے بابا
صرف میرے خوابوں یا میری لکھی ہوئ نظموں میں زندہ ھیں
میں انہیں زندہ رکھتا ھوں اپنی ایک نظم میں جو آڑو کے باغ کے بارے میں ہے
جہاں وہ باغ میں چہل قدمی کرتے ہوۓ کہتے ہیں کہ
''صبح کی روشنی ان پھلوں میں رنگ بھرتی ہے اور
سورج ان کو ذائقہ بخشتا ہے''
میں ایک خواب میں ہوا کی دیوار پر
اتنی گہری سیاہی سے ایک نظم لکھتا ہوں کہ
لفظوں کا سایا زمین پر اتر آتا ہے
لفظوں کے اس ساۓ تلے میں اپنے بابا کو آرام کرنے کے لۓ بلاتا ہوں
تاکہ وہ ان لفظوں کے معنی کو محسوس کر سکیں
وہ آتے ہیں اور کہتے ہیں کہ وہ
درختوں کے ساۓ تلے سستانا پسند کریں گے
جہاں وہ ہر خیال ومعنی سے خالی پن کے ساتھ
ہوا کا انتظار کریں گے
تاکہ جب ہوا شاخوں کو ہلاۓ تو شاخوں سے چھنتی ہوئ
مختصر روشنی کو وہ اپنے بدن پر محسوس کر سکیں
اب میرے بابا
میرے لفظوں کی سیاہی میں ایک ناؤ پر سفر کر رہے ہیں
جلد ہی وہ پہاڑوں میں بہتے ایک دریا کے کنارے رکیں گے
جہاں وہ ایک قدیم بلوط کے نیچے پھیلی دراز گھاس پر آرام کرتے ہوۓ
آخری بار اپنی آنکھیں کھولیں گے
آخری بار وہ بلندقامت زرد سیکامور کے نیچے پھیلی فرنز کو دیکھیں گے
سورج اپنی سنہری کرنیں پانی پر بچھا رہا ہے اور دور کہیں عقاب
آسمان کے ورق پلٹتے ہوۓ پہاڑ کی ڈھلاںوں میں اتر رہے ہیں

Steffen Horstmann‘s poems and book reviews have appeared in publications throughout the world, including Baltimore Review, Free State Review, Istanbul Literary Review, Louisiana Literature, San Antonio Review, Texas Poetry Journal and Tiferet. He has published two books of ghazals, Jalsaghar (2016) and Ujjain (2017), and has recently completed a new book of poems, Ellora.

Saltanat Qaiser was born in Lahore, Punjab province, Pakistan. She earned her Master of Arts in Urdu Literature and Language from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. Her first collection of Urdu ghazals was titled “Ik Chiragh Behta hua” (The Flowing Lamp) and was published in 1997 in Lahore, Pakistan. She is inspired by the poetry of classical Urdu poets Mirza Asadullah Ghalib, Meer Taqi Meer, contemporary Urdu poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz, classical Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah, and contemporary Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam. The complete text of her Urdu ghazals is available free of charge on well-known Urdu websites like “Rekhta” (https://www.rekhta.org/), Dareechah-e-Nigarish (https://www.dareechah.com/), and Urdupoint.com. She resides in Barrie, Canada.

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The Sanguisorba minor (salad burnet) is blooming beautifully again!
I’m always amazed by the soft, feathery flowers — such a charming detail in the garden.

De Sanguisorba minor (kleine pimpernel) staat weer prachtig in bloei!
Ik blijf verliefd op die zachte, pluizige bloemetjes — een echt pareltje in de tuin.

#sanguisorbaminor
#saladburnet
#kleinepimpernel
#bloementuin
#moestuin
#flowergarden
#tuinplezier
#biodiversiteit
#naturephotography
#gardeninglife
#bilingualpost