Electric Lock - Shang Ch'in

Tonight the streetlights where I live went out at midnight as usual.

While I looked for my key the kind-hearted taxi driver aimed his headlights at my back as he backed up. The ruthless glare projected the inky silhouette of a middle-aged man onto the steel gate. It was only after I had found the right key on the chain and inserted it straight into my heart that the good fellow drove off.

Then I turned the key in my heart with a click, pulled out the delicate piece of metal, pushed the gate open, and stroke in. Soon I got used to the darkness inside.

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Shang Ch'in (1930 – 2010) China (lived in Taiwan from age of 18)
Translated by Michelle Yeh and N G D Malmqvist
Source: Poetry International