A Picture
For Tiantian's fifth birthday
May 8, 1991
Morning arrives in a sleeveless dress apples tumble all over the earth
my daughter is drawing a picture
how vast is a five-year-old sky
your name has two windows
one opens towards a sun with no clock-hands
the other opens towards your father
who has become a hedgehog in exile
taking with him a few unintelligible characters
and a bright red apple
he has left your painting
how vast is a five-year-old sky
(Tiantian, the nickname given to the poet's daughter, is written in Chinese with two characters which look like a pair of windows. The same character also forms a part of the character for the word "picture.")