Capturing War in the Poetry of Ya Xian 55that they mark the graves of unknown combatants or civilians,
reminding us of the impersonality of war, whereas the “many black
crosses” referred to in line 17 suggest numerous corpses and hence
underscore the massive scale and impact of war (49). In “Naples,” Ya
Xian draws exclusively upon Italian artistic and religious culture in his
reference to the ruined plaster statues of women and the Catholic
imagery of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, as well as St. Nicholas’s Market,
evening prayers, God, and angels. War thus becomes an international
and hence universal phenomenon.
In “The Buckwheat Field” (éê田, 1957), the poet integrates
stanza-long descriptions of Japan, France, and the United States into a
poem with a refrain referring to the Chinese city of Luoyang:
The cuckoo sings in the grove ìí在林f唱着
sings in a haiku-like style ïðñ的唱着
that year spring was in Asakusa n 春天在ô草
geishas, samisens, folding fans ö÷ø, ùúø, û扇ø
such a joyous spring _ýþ的春天ø
(She waited for me in Luoyang (在ÎÏ着我
waited for me in a buckwheat field) 在éê田着我)
sings in a haiku-like style ïðñ的唱着
the cuckoo in the grove 林f的ìí
The jasmine blooms in the park 茉莉在園着
blooms in a pointillist way è ñ的着
that year spring was in Paris n 春天在
the Seine, old bookstalls, Hugo
ø, ?攤ø, ø
such a beautiful spring _的春天ø
(She waited for me in Luoyang (在ÎÏ着我
waited for me in a buckwheat field) 在éê田着我)
it blooms in a pointillist way è ñ的着
the jasmine in the park 園的茉莉
The raven perches on the cross 在十ÙÚ~着
perches in an Edgar Allen ·坡ñ的着
Poe–esque sort of way 春天我在塔
at springtime I was in Kentucky ø, ¦!ø, id"ø
red loam, stagecoaches, the _#$的春天ø
Valley of the Dead (在ÎÏ着我
such a mournful spring 在éê田着我)
(She waited for me in Luoyang ·坡ñ的
waited for me in a buckwheat field) 着
it perches in an Edgar Allen Poe–esque 十ÙÚ~的
sort of way
the raven on the cross
(Ya 1981b: 297–299)