Life is like a river that flows slow and steady,
Now surging with hidden currents, now calm and placid.
In this river, I wrestle time and again with the invisible illness,
Falling down repeatedly, yet fighting my way upstream stubbornly.
All these years, though pain lingers like a shadow by my side,
I’ve learned to capture the tides of my heart with my camera wide—
Documenting the hardships, and collecting the warmth as well:
The grins of children, the benevolence of the elderly,
The grass whispering softly in the spring breeze,
The autumn leaves blazing brightly beneath the sun’s caress.
Seasons come and go gently through the gaps of my suffering,
And with my lens, I turn them all into timeless poetry.
In my days of health, I crave knowledge with all my being—
Devouring pages of books, letting words become the oxygen of my soul;
Listening to music, letting melodies speak my innermost thoughts;
Wandering down the streets, freezing those trivial yet beautiful moments with a shutter click.
Illness is a shadow, yet also a mirror,
Showing me the light that I’ve never once given up on.
I sharpen the wings of my soul with reading, thinking and learning,
So I can soar high even amid wind and rain.
No matter how long the road ahead may be,
I still nurture every morning with my passion,
And light up every dusk with my hope.
For I firmly believe—
The meaning of life
Is not merely to exist,
But to live
Warmly, bravely,
In the way I truly desire.
