\"Original essays by people from Haichuan – Thoughts on a visit to the Kumtag Desert\"

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This post was last edited by Benpeng Guo Jibo45 on 2017-9-30 at 22:07. The solitary plumes of smoke rising from the Kumtag Mountains drift in the eternal northern winds; they depict scenes of the sun and the sunsets over the mountains and deserts. Yet these are merely the poet’s ethereal and colorless imaginations. I sit cross-legged on the scorching sand dunes, listening to the sound of the dutar, imagining the creatures of ancient deserts performing dances of darkness and fire in silence. Time slowly consumes every face, black or white; only the poplars and legends remain, trapped forever in memory. I want to lie down, to stretch out my body in a ‘V’ shape, to sleep in a posture that symbolizes immortality—like a drop of dried ink within the faded folds of ancient scriptures held by an old monk. I leave quietly, but the stories of the desert continue. Neither warriors nor fools dare to approach, for fear of being buried in a world made up of sand grains