To The Translators
to you
the unsung, the uncrowned,
the poet, the aerial artist walking on a tightrope
between two words—two worlds,
the ventriloquist virtuoso speaking others’ dreams in your own voice,
or speaking your own dreams in others’ voices,
the bridge builder, working with syllables and commas and periods,
the unrecognized academic producer whose scholarship
is appreciated only by the most cultivated.
Kai-yu Hsu