Poems of Paris
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
On Going to Pau
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
I almost forgot I was in a foreign land,
Like a black bird eagerly pecking through the dawn.
The rails stretch out like a lasting hymn,
The crisp wind carries the fragrance of France.
Outside the window,
The vineyard,unwilling to be lonely,
Stirs waves of my thoughts.
When Pierre held up the sign saying "Anna Keiko,"
In that instant,I forgot the bumps and fatigue of the journey,
As if ASSAT
Had always been my home in a past life.
September 6, 2025
Written at ASSAT
**
The First Encounter
By Anna Keiko
Barefoot, he stands before the castle gate
As if awaiting a beloved’s return
Or like an eagle spreading its wings
To embrace her tenderly.
In an instant, two lost swallows
Arrive together at their spiritual home
The world changes its colors from then on
The sky full of stars resembles ripe grapes in the garden
Oh, my lover from a past life!
Look, the moon is conversing with us too
Its heart, untouched by seasons
Even in September, still wanders through summer’s currents
Scorching, rising, flickering uncertainly
September 6, 2025, Night
Written at Assat Castle
**
Assat Concert
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
How fortunate!
The annual Assat concert—
The village’s grandest event.
A band from England,
Young fellows strumming guitars,
Voices pouring out melodies sweeter than birdsong.
The audience keeps the beat,
More spirited than the moon.
Children bounce and hop before the stage—
They symbolize the future.
When you slip Foie Gras into my mouth,
Oh,my very being responds:
This rustic flavor is truly wonderful!
As I eat,I clap with all my might.
The singer,energized, steps closer —
Their teasing eyes
Like dancing stars.
In that moment, I forget the 850-kilometer journey,
Recording endlessly with my phone.
I am like a drunken pigeon
Spinning round the moon.
September 6, 2025, evening
**
The Autograph Book at the Arc de Triomphe
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
Unexpected?
Yes, perhaps not.
Through Tim’s radiant introduction —
An officer adorned with nine medals
Salutes a poet he has never met,
His smile like the bright Paris sky.
In the solemn ceremony,
A staff member lifts the signature book,
And presents it before me.
I read aloud the three characters: “Li Xiannian,”
Standing beneath the grand arch,
Breathless, nervous, yet joyful —
In that moment,
I was like a fish just lifted from the Seine,
Gazing into this wondrous world.
September 22, 2025
**
That Touch the Soul
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
I’ve searched to the ends of the earth —
No one has held an art exhibition for me,
No one has taken me to stroll in parks or shop,
No one has introduced me to their friends,
No one has invited me to lunch with their Family members
In my life,
No one has made me long to share my time,
No one has made me cross borders to meet,
No one has moved me to tears of joy.
But my dear fool, you did.
You are my confidant and kindred spirit,
You are my dearest friend, my eternity.
At the edge of the world you touch,
There spreads
A kindness and gentleness never seen before.
Written in Zurich, Switzerland
September 30, 2025, 5:04 AM
**
The 13th Arrondissement
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
The air carries a sweet fragrance,
The weather shifts between sun and rain.
You kiss it,
It kisses you—
Sometimes drizzles soak your clothes,
Sometimes the sun kisses through your skin.
At eight in the evening,
Sunlight slips over rooftops and wanders through treetops.
You push the window open gently, breathing in a city’s laughter,
Lounge on the sofa, sipping the richness of coffee,
Biting into chocolate, lost in its lingering spell.
You could still go out for a bite of French bread,
Sip a glass of sparkling wine,
Read the footsteps of passersby,
Or from the rustle of clothes and shuffle of shoes
Conceive a painting, a poem—
That is the deepest delight.
The 13th arrondissement is Paris in miniature:
Couples lip to lip in roadside cafés,
That purest human tenderness.
In an instant, emotions stir, as if spring has returned to the world.
Heart racing, shy, hesitant, you cry to the sky—
“Give me back my eighteen years!”
Flushed cheeks imprinted on the colorless air,
You beyond caring, they beyond noticing.
October 3, 2025, 0:50
**
Engraved in the Soul's Memory
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
Every love holds its secrets
You’re inexplicably drawn to him
He is the polar light
Elusive as clouds drifting across the sky
You understand, yet struggle to break free
Your heart, your memories
Like words carved into stone—unerasable
Tangled, bewildered, helplessly ensnared
It’s neither intentional nor explicable
Yet this magnetic pull
Grips you relentlessly
November 3, 2025
**
Welcome to Paris.
——Tim
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
Hello!
Welcome to Paris.
Paris is magical —
Come to Paris.
So says the renowned French poet and artist Timothy Bordaneuf.
If you wish to enrich your vision, come to Paris.
If you are a lover of literature and art, come to Paris.
If you are an architectural designer, you must come to Paris.
The air of Paris carries the fragrance of spring,
Aroma fills the streets, cafés line every corner.
When tired, choose a spot and sip a coffee.
Here, passersby walk with light steps, less hurried than those in Shanghai,
Eyes lowered, speaking softly,
Their faces like an innocent September sky.
Yet Paris is also a city that stirs desire:
The art sanctuary of the Louvre,
Notre-Dame’s Esmeralda,
The Champs-Élysées of Armand and Marguerite,
And the Élysée Palace’s power reminds me of Napoleon.
These are the histories of France —
In the air, in museums, in textbooks,
Lingers the tales of Père Goriot and La Dame aux Camélias.
**
Impressions of Paris
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
A city —
vitality amassed through time —
cannot be fully told.
Each house holds untold stories;
only the sun shows no hidden thoughts.
Its tears and laughter hold meaning,
yet you need not understand,
just as flowers on Parisian balconies
represent nothing, like a maiden —
their mere presence paints the scenery.
If you ask what left the deepest impression,
Parisian men are true gentlemen,
Parisian women breathe with charm,
Parisian architecture gathers Europe’s varied styles,
and Paris itself —
its natural grace, its literary soul —
wanders through streets and ports.
Murals on walls
form living landscapes,
vibrant art in the now.
My friend says the art of the Louvre and Montmartre is noble,
yet street art remains a mirror of common life.
When fatigue sets in, sit down, have a coffee,
savor the ease brought by foreign culture and slow living.
**
Contemplation
By Anna Keiko (Shanghai, China)
How many paths must one walk to reach
that unknown polar realm?
What lies stored in the cold palace
bathed in sunlight—
flowers, or coffee,
or perhaps
a wilderness teeming with creeping insects?
06:02 November 2, 2025
Anna Keiko (China)
Anna Keiko, a distinguished poetess and essayist from Shanghai, China, has made a profound impact on contemporary literature. A graduate of Shanghai East China University with a Bachelor’s degree in Law, she has achieved global recognition for her poetry, which has been translated into more than 30 languages and published in over 500 journals, magazines, and media outlets across 40 countries. Keiko is the founder and chief editor of the ACC Shanghai Huifeng Literature Association and serves as a Chinese representative and director of the International Cultural Foundation Ithaca. Her affiliations extend to Immagine & Poesia in Italy and the Canadian-Cuban Literary Union, reflecting her commitment to fostering cross-cultural literary exchanges. Her poetic oeuvre spans six collections, including “Lonely in the Blood and Absurd Language”, showcasing her exploration of human emotions, environmental concerns, and existential themes. Her innovative style and evocative imagery have earned her numerous accolades, such as the 30th International Poetry Award in Italy and the World Peace Ambassador Certificate in 2024. Notably, she was the first Chinese recipient of the Cross-Cultural Exchange Medal for Significant Contribution to World Poetry, awarded in the United States in 2023. Her works, including “Octopus Bones” and other acclaimed poems, have resonated with readers worldwide, garnering invitations to prominent international poetry festivals and conferences. Her dedication to the arts extends beyond poetry, encompassing prose, essays, lyrics, and drama, underscoring her versatility as a writer. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020, Anna Keiko continues to break barriers, bringing Chinese literature to the global stage.
