My shadow stains the moon. Will I return to Earth?
Everything looks brighter here, but not as clear.

Everything looks brighter here, but not as clear:
A million compromises crowd our Earth.

I’ve made a million compromises since birth:
When I was a girl, I was the last to eat.

I was still just a girl—I longed to eat
Treats baked at dawn with egg yolk, lotus, red bean,

Your mooncakes split at dusk with lotus filling.
The elixir of life wasn’t nearly so sweet.

The elixir of life went quickly, my sweet—
I betrayed you, drank it all,

I drank it all down. My betrayal
Stains the moon. Will I return to Earth?

Explore Related Work: