Overwhelmed, overwrought, overawed am I

Alone in this prayer cell, on knees I bend

Reverently and humbly, I reflect, “Oh my”

Before God, I dare not lift my head

My form prostrate, I contemplate, and

Yet, all I can do is think

Unceasingly of my family and of

The life I left behind at home.

 

© 2017 S Phua

 

(“I bend my head and think of home” from “Thoughts in the Silent Night” by Li Bai (701-762); translated by Yang Xianyi & Dai Naidie.)