Blossoming Pear Tree, 73 x 46 cm, March 1888, painting by Vincent Van Gogh, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowering_Orchards
Spring has come, and only Helen remains
春天了，只有海伦
Spring has come, and only Helen continues to write to me,
while I am a silent spring.
Spring has come, and only Helen’s letters sprout green every day in the mailbox,
while I am a silent, black-brown.
Spring has come, and only Helen visits to pour water on my hibernating tree hollow,
while I am a silent, ever-deepening void.
Spring has come, and only Helen conveys news from the outside world to me.
Mei and plum are in bloom, the trees are covered in dense, tiny white flowers,
but I am not standing beneath them.
At night, little pale moths swirl out from the crevices,
and I am the still-cold crevice of that old house.
Spring has come, and only Helen tries to reassure me that I am still alive.
She receives no answer, for I am a silent echo,
a nameless tree, hidden in the ever-receding brown forest.
Thank you, Helen, we are here on the vast sea.
9th March, 2026
Response Poetry by Ma Yongbo 马永波
Response Poetry Translated by Helen 海伦·普莱茨
for Yongbo 马永波 Monday 9th May, 12 noon
Ma Yongbo 马永波, 12th March 2026, Harbin, China, Planet Earth, The Universe
春天了，只有海伦
Spring has come, and only Helen remains
春天了，只有海伦还在给我写信
而我是寂静的
春天了，只有海伦的信，在信箱里每天萌发出绿色
而我是寂静的黑褐色
春天了，只有海伦在向我冬眠的树洞灌水
而我是寂静的空洞越来越深
春天了，只有海伦向我传递外面的消息
梅子和李子开花，满树密集的白色细碎的小花
而我没有站在树下
夜里，苍白的小蛾子从裂缝中飞旋而出
而我就是那老房子依然冰冷的裂缝
春天了，只有海伦试图让我确信我还活着
她得不到回答，因为我是寂静的回声
是无名的树木，藏在越来越远的褐色的林中
谢谢海伦，我们在辽阔的海上
2026年3月9日myb 马永波
The Three Friends of Winter by the painter Zhao Mengjian, Song dynasty
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Friends_of_Winter
The significance of the ‘Three Friends of Winter’ in Ancient China—Mei plum blossom is considered to be one of the three friends of winter, Bamboo and Pine are the other two, all three are revered for their resilience to the cold.
Spring has come, and I am still here, I am
春天来了，我依然在这里，我是
the grey squirrel curling amongst the tiny white faces,
I send you the warmth of my fur. The cold morning white
can not penetrate everything, the blossom is opening,
the doves have found their voice. I borrow their voices
for you, soft and grey and matching squirrel fur.
In these weeks I visit you in patient silence, you
visit me in song after song, as silver fossils
waiting on the open beach, the sea invites us
and we swim. If there are boats they will be grey too,
your soft and lost voice opening again in white crests of
plum blossom. I have heard you in the small darkness
of every petal turning incessantly in black. I set out
on every minute to greet you in grey and turbulent white at the gate.
9th March 2026, 8:23 am
Response Poetry by Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
‘Wild plum trees in white with a green gate’ by Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨. Wild Plum Trees in blossom in Helen Pletts’ 海伦·普莱茨 garden, 10th March 2026, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
春天来了，我依然在这里，我是
Spring has come, and I am still here, I am
蜷缩在白色小脸中间的灰松鼠，
我把皮毛的温暖送给你。寒冷清晨的白色
无法穿透一切，花朵正在绽放，
鸽子找到了自己的声音。我借用它们的声音，
为你，柔和的灰色，与松鼠的皮毛相配。
这几周，我在耐心的沉默中拜访你，你
在一首接一首的歌中拜访我，如同银色的化石，
在开阔的沙滩上等待，大海邀请我们，
我们畅游其中。如果有船只，它们也会是灰色的，
你那轻柔而迷失的声音，在梅花洁白的花冠中
再次响起。我曾在每一片花瓣不断转动的细小黑暗中
听到你的声音。我随时随刻都在出发
去迎接你，在灰色中，在门前动荡的白色中。
2026年3月9日 上午8:23，海伦·普莱茨
‘Wild plum tree white blossom turbulence’ 10th March 2026, by Helen Pletts海伦·普莱茨, photograph taken in her garden, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨, 13th March 2026, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
Michael Simms, American poet, novelist, essayist, editor, and literary activist whose work captures the intricacies of the human experience with grace and insight.
Michael Simms
https://www.michaelsimms.info/is an esteemed American poet, novelist, essayist, editor, and literary activist whose work captures the intricacies of the human experience with grace and insight. Known for its precise language and poignant imagery, his poems show the intersections of nature, family, and the passage of time, reflecting a deep awareness of life’s fragility and resilience and offering readers a lens through which to examine their own lives and surroundings. In addition to his poetry, Simms is a prominent figure in the literary world as the Founding Editor Emeritus of Autumn House Press and the Founding Editor of Vox Populi Sphere, nonprofit publishers that champion emerging and underrepresented voices in literature. Simms’s poetry collections, including Jubal Rising, showcase his mastery of lyricism and narrative, blending personal reflection with broader societal themes. Through his writing and his tireless advocacy for literature, Michael Simms continues to leave an indelible mark on contemporary American poetry and publishing.
迈克尔・西姆斯是一位备受推崇的美国诗人、小说家、散文家、编辑与文学活动家，其作品以优雅笔触与深刻洞见，捕捉人类经验的复杂肌理。他的诗作语言凝练、意象动人，呈现自然、亲情与时光流转的交织图景，饱含对生命脆弱与坚韧的深切体认，为读者审视自身生活与周遭世界提供了独特视角。除诗歌创作外，西姆斯在文学界亦举足轻重：他是秋屋出版社荣休创始主编、《民众之声》网刊创始主编，这两家非营利出版机构致力于扶持文坛新锐与被遮蔽的声音。西姆斯的诗集《犹八上升》（Jubal Rising）等作品，尽显其抒情与叙事功力，将个人沉思与更宏阔的社会主题相融。凭借创作与对文学事业的不懈推动，迈克尔・西姆斯持续为当代美国诗歌与出版领域留下不可磨灭的印记。
Michael Simms 迈克尔・西姆斯 poetry in Chinese
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/PsF-6lGT4na7N7H7obZn8Q
Magnolia
Suppose you held what you love so tightly
you broke it
Suppose you let something slip away
Your eyes looking away at the very moment
The magnolia tree already dropping its petals
with each breeze
It was inevitable, I suppose
the seasons rising and falling
the sky changing
Fourteen years since I’ve heard your voice
I didn’t know you were saying goodbye
By Michael Simms
from his poetry collection ‘Jubal Rising’, Ragged Sky Press
https://www.waterstones.com/book/jubal-rising/michael-simms/9781933974606
玉兰
假设你把你所爱的紧紧地握在手里
你把它弄坏了
假设你让一些东西溜走了
你的眼睛在那一刻看向别处
玉兰的花瓣已经在落
随着每一阵微风
这是不可避免的，我假设
四季起起落落
天空变幻不定
十四年没有听到你的声音了
我不知道你要说再见
迈克尔・西姆斯
Ma Yongbo: Responding to My Deceased Father’s Order at Night (English & Chinese)
In the early hours, father’s order finally arrives—
telling our whole family to go and join him,
father’s troops have already reached a certain point,
leaving us, the military dependents, far behind.
In the compound, there are shouts of people and neighs of horses,
and the clatter of pots and pans ringing out in confusion,
elder sister hands each of us a triangular bag, stuffed with rations,
my wooden rifle gleams from being polished,
mother takes a long time to get dressed, in the pre-dawn darkness,
my three siblings and I wait for her to come out.
It is late autumn, and the journey ahead is dark and endless,
the horse-drawn cart creaks and groans
as it passes through the stubble fields after harvest,
I turn to look back at the sauce jar left beneath the windowsill,
I hit it several times with a stone, but I can’t break it,
some reddish rainwater still lingers inside.
At last, we arrive at the small town of Sifangtai,
only my father stands there,
at the crossroads shrouded in thin mist,
behind him, the 1960s-era town flickers in and out of view,
he is all by himself, with a heavy gun hanging from his military belt.
He smokes quietly, seeming a little uneasy,
his troops have already marched toward the Soviet Union,
leaving him—the commander—behind.
Why have we arrived so late? Father doesn’t ask,
perhaps it is we who left him behind somewhere.
~~~
夜里回应我去世的父亲的指令 马永波
凌晨，父亲的指令终于到达了
让我们全家去与他会合
父亲的部队已经抵达了一个地方
把我们这些随军家属落在了后面
大院里人喊马嘶，锅碗瓢盆叮当乱响
大姐分给我们每人一个三角兜子
装着干粮，我的木头枪磨得油光锃亮
母亲花了很长时间穿衣，黎明前的黑暗中
我们姐弟四人都在等着母亲出来
已是深秋季节，幽暗漫长的路途
马车吱嘎吱嘎，穿过收割后的留茬地
我回头望着留在窗沿下的酱缸
我用石头砸了好几下，也没砸破
那里还残留着发红的雨水
最后，我们到达了四方台小镇
只有父亲一个人站在那儿
站在薄雾笼罩的路口
他身后六十年代的小镇时隐时现
他孤身一人，武装带上挂着沉重的枪
他静静地抽着烟，似乎有点不安
他的部队已经向苏联方向进发了
只把作为指挥官的他留在后面
我们为什么迟迟到达？父亲没有问
也许是我们，把他留在了某处
~~~~~
Poem and translation 2026 Ma Yongbo
Ma Yongbo 马永波 First Published on Vox Populi, Editor Michael Simms
Ma Yongbo is a Chinese poet, translator, editor, and scholar of postmodern poetry. He has authored or translated more than seventy published books. Ma is a professor in the Faculty of Arts and Literature at Nanjing University of Science and Technology. His translations from English include works by John Ashbery, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, Herman Melville, May Sarton, Walt Whitman, William Carlos Williams, and many others.
Helen Pletts: In the Presence of Things Flying Slower in a Grey Dusk (4 Poems in English and Chinese)
Translated by Ma Yongbo
sunlight cornering the twist of the earth again
growing the sun-warm paper where the printed spiders’ feet gather.
The tiny feet from China hold a set course, tiny black toes kick out at their edges.
The poet is researching the word ‘happy’ and the tiny black feet
come and go across the page. Rain from the Tang dynasty has re-surged,
all feelings gather in a fine mist, and lighter still is the joy of rain as a witness
to the landscape of fear fleeing like mist up the mountainside,
her tattered white veil rising like a startled cry from a mouth
15th October 2025, after coming off medication which produced extreme
and unbearable side effects and re-examining a translation of Du Fu
阳光再次笼罩着地球的旋转
太阳将纸页晒得暖融融的，印刷体的蜘蛛脚印在那里聚集。
来自中国的小脚丫循着既定轨迹，小小的黑色脚趾在边缘处轻弹。
女诗人正在研究“快乐”这个词，而黑色的小脚丫
在纸上来来去去。唐代的雨水再次涌现，
所有的情感凝成薄雾，而更轻盈的是雨的欢悦，见证着
恐惧的景象如同雾气在山腰上消散，
她残破的白色面纱扬起，像嘴里发出的一声惊叫
2025年10月15日，停用产生极难忍受的副作用的药物后，重校杜甫诗作的一篇译文
海伦·普莱茨
~~~
the poet on crossing darkness
without light, the stars become our silver constant.
Unfolding light is a skill darkness cannot fathom
when the moon is absent. And so the stars have brought
their blanket of white to show us how not to disappear
in black, how light is fearless, touches us at the edges,
and as we become accustomed to the gloom
we are the ones holding each other in silence
31st August 2025, written after standing under the milky way
in deep night in the garden
女诗人论穿越黑暗
没有光，星辰便成为我们银色的常数。
展现的光是黑暗无法探测的技巧
当月亮缺席的时刻。于是，星辰带来了
它们白色的毯子，向我们展示如何不在黑暗中
消失，光是如何无所畏惧，触及我们的边缘，
而当我们逐渐习惯了昏暗
我们便成了彼此默默相拥的人。
2025年8月31日，在深夜的花园里，静观银河之后而作
海伦·普莱茨
~~~
moth breaths touching as
light as our moth breath, circling contentment,
showing light only where the dark is no more.
We are startled by warmth, our saturated bodies
have unfolded their wings from our moth brown fur,
our warm breath escaping like invisible wings
we have created to follow after us
16th August 2025
飞蛾的呼吸触碰着我们
轻盈如我们飞蛾的呼吸，盘旋着的满足，
只在黑暗消失的地方才显露出光明。
我们被温暖所惊，透湿的身体
从飞蛾的棕色绒毛中展开翅膀，
温暖的呼吸如同隐形的翅膀一般逃逸，
我们创造的东西追随着我们
2025年8月16日海伦·普莱茨
~~~
in the presence of things flying slower in a grey dusk
what starts all this is something darker in the centre of a white rose;
backing out of the petals and arching its own back.
And now the wind has dropped, the wings are without weighted force
and so they work awkwardly, as if slowing bees are in fact mechanics
of the air and we had never noticed this. Wings cranking into airlessness,
they are already attaching themselves to the oncoming darkness.
Darkness is a nest of flightlessness for bees too tired to turn the gears
31st May 2025
灰暗的黄昏，面对着飞得更慢的事物
这一切的开端，是白玫瑰花芯中某个更暗的东西；
它正从花瓣中退出来，弓着背。
此刻风已停息，翅膀失去了承载的力量
于是便笨拙地扇动，仿佛减速的蜜蜂，实则是
空气力学的产物，我们从未留意。翅膀在无风的空中摇动，
它们已经把自己附着在即将来临的黑暗中。
黑暗是蜜蜂无法飞翔的巢穴，它们疲惫得无法转动齿轮。
2025年5月31日海伦·普莱茨
~~~~~
Poems in English copyright 2026 Helen Pletts
Translations copyright 2026 Helen Pletts and Ma Yongbo
Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 First Published on Vox Populi, Editor Michael Simms
https://voxpopulisphere.com/2026/03/10/helen-pletts-three-poems-in-english-and-chinese/
Helen Pletts is a British poet based in Cambridge, UK, whose work has been translated into Chinese, Bangla, Greek, Vietnamese, Serbian, Korean, Arabic, Italian, Albanian and Romanian. She is the English co-translator of Chinese poet Ma Yongbo.
All images under individual copyright © to either Ma Yongbo 马永波 or Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 or Michael Simms
.