It’s not a poem, per se, but let me share the first scene in my wuxia retelling of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. For those unfamiliar with the term, wuxia is a Chinese genre of literature that features martial arts, valiance, action and often elements of the supernatural. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for example, is wuxia.

As for the source material, Titus Andronicus starts off with two brothers, Saturninus and Bassianus, along with their followers, competing to see who will rule Rome. Right before a riot begins Titus’ brother, Marcus, arrives and announces that Titus, an ancient but highly respected general, is returning from war and will choose which brother will be made emperor. For my retelling all the genders are reversed. Bái Sī [白丝, White Silk] and Sàtǔn [萨吞, Steel-Swallower] are sisters. Tiě Gū [铁姑, Iron Aunt] is the sister to General Tiān Mǔ [天母, Heavenly Mother].

My skills at translating Chinese have much to be desired, so any errors here are entirely my own.

《血菩萨。》第一幕·第一场
“Blood Bodhisattva.” Act I 一 Scene I

《血染玉阶，凤泣残阳。》
[Blood stains the jade steps, a phoenix weeps for the dying sun.]

[玉门国·千剑宫外。]
[Yumen Kingdom · Outside the Thousand Swords Palace。]

[战鼓裂云，幕启时，白思与萨囤对峙宫阶之上。铁牛、天鹤两派弟子于阶下血战。宫门处，礼官肃立，御史执笔，锦衣卫刀出半鞘，静若石雕。]
[War drums tear at the clouds as the curtain rises, Bái Sī and Sàtūn stand frozen on the palace steps. Below, their Iron Ox and Heavenly Crane disciples wage war. At the gates, Lǐguān stand rigid, Yùshǐ clutch ink-brushes and Jinyiwei guards rest hands on half-drawn blades, silent as carved sentinels.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN.

[斩马刀啸空而过，尘暴如龙卷起。]

[Her Zhanmadao screams through air, whipping up a dust-whirlwind.]

“铁牛门下！”

“Sons and daughters of the Iron Ox!”

“朕即凤诏，天命在刃！”

“I am the Phoenix’s living edict, the Mandate burns in my steel!”

“和我一起站起来，铸就历史的栋梁！”

“Stand with me and be forged into history’s pillars!”

“叛龙者 …”

“Betray me …”

[刀光一闪，宫灯齐灭。]

[A blade-flash—every palace lantern gutters out.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]

“… 九族诛尽，宫门悬颅！”

“… and I’ll hang your bloodline’s skulls from the palace gates!”

白思 / BÁI SĪ.

[双针剑作鹤翼式，冷笑。]

[Needle-swords flash into crane-wing stance, her sneer colder than moonlight.]

“天命？” [冷笑。]

“The Mandate?” [Laugh like cracking ice.]

“弑亲之血，也配称凤？”

“Can a kinslayer’s hands still clutch the Phoenix’s crown?”

“天鹤展翅！”

“Heavenly Crane spreads its wings!”

[她的剑刃颤抖，如同挥舞的羽翼——鹤的优雅中夹杂着蝎子的毒液。她的阵营中回荡着鹤鸣齐鸣，如同丝绸撕裂剑刃的声音。]

[Her blades shiver like pinions at mid-strike—the crane’s grace laced with scorpion’s venom. Her faction echoes with choral crane-cries, a sound like silk tearing on sword-edges.]

白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]

“重器非在冠冕，而在德行。”

“True power lies not in crowns, but in virtue.”

“尔自比狂风？不过瘈狗吠日！”

“You call yourself a storm? A rabid dog barking at heaven!”

[她的战士们的呐喊声响彻云霄——铁牛队伍摇摇晃晃，阵型散乱。]

[Her warriors’ cries pierce the air—the Iron Ox ranks stagger, their formation fraying.]

铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ.

[持碧玉令，九节鞭缠腰。满场肃杀。]
[Enters with the Jade Scepter, her 9-section whip coiled around her hips. The air thickens, sharp as a guillotine’s edge.]

“骨肉相残之座，未雪先倾。”
“The throne built on sister-blood collapses before winter’s first snow can hide its sins.”

“今奉碎玉令，迎天母将军班师 …”
“By the Broken Jade Seal, I declare General Tiān Mǔ regent …”

“五毒教之役，当终今日。”
“Her war against the Five Poisons Sect ends now.”

“散！”
“Disperse!”

“… 否则御史以刻石指铭罪，鬼神同泣！”
“… or the Yùshǐ’s Stone-Carving Finger will engrave your crimes so deep, even gods and ghosts will wail!”

[御史的一击落地——指尖击碎了大理石地板，裂开了蜘蛛网，如同下了判决书一般。]

[The Yùshǐ’s strike lands—fingertips shatter the marble floor, cracks spider-webbing like a verdict.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN.

[见玉阶旁书生所留的砚台，冷笑。]

[Spots an inkstone left by a fleeing scholar, her lips curl.]

[脚踢翻，墨泼阶如血。]

[Her boot flips it, black ink gushes down the steps like a slit throat.]

“刻啊！”

“Carve this!”

“让后世记得 …”

“Let history remember …”

[锦衣卫刀光映墨，凤鸣凄厉。]

[Jinyiwei blades gleam with reflected ink, their phoenix-cry a funeral dirge.]

[白思的鹤簪坠地，羽尖沾墨。]

[Bái Sī’s crane-hairpin clatters to the floor, its feather-tip staining black.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]

“… 铁牛将军之妹执印却不敢执刃！”

“… the Iron General’s sister clutches seals, but flees from steel!”

铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ.

[举令，寒声。]

[Raising the Jade Order, her voice colder than a tomb’s breath.]

“刻石遗臭，万古流秽。”

“Let stone etch your reek, let ten thousand generations gag on your name.”

[玉阶震颤，如畏其言。]

[The jade steps tremble, as if fearing her decree.]

铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ [cont.]

“母皇遗诏刻于玉，非书于血。”

“The Empress’ will was carved in jade, not scribbled in traitors’ blood.”

[锦衣卫刀锋低鸣，似凤泣先帝。]

[Jinyiwei blades hum, a phoenix weeping for the dead sovereign.]

白思 / BÁI SĪ.

[凝视没羽，墨渍如泪，轻叹后扬声道。]
[Gazes at the drowned feather, ink seeping like tears, then her voice lifts, clear and cold.]

“血缘始，血缘终。”
“By blood it began, by blood it ends.”

[向铁姑鞠躬，腰如竹折而不断。]
[She bows to Tiě Gū, back bent like bamboo, unbroken.]

白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]

“我臣服 …”
“I yield …”

“… 非顺汝刃，乃顺天佑。”
“… not to your blade, but to Heaven’s decree.”

[白袍众退如雪崩，寂然无声。]
[Her disciples retreat like an avalanche in reverse, soundless, deliberate.]

白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]

“愿鹤唳引慈母之手。”
“May the crane’s cry guide my Mother’s hand.”

[最后一句如刃悬喉。]
[The words hang—a knife at the world’s throat.]

白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]

“雪退散…”
“The snow withdraws…”

[… 然寒入骨，千年不化。]
“…but frost lingers in the bones and will not thaw for a thousand years.”

萨囤 / SÀTŪN.

[握刀下令，目光灼灼。]

[Her Zhanmadao gleams, a verdict half-unsheathed. Her gaze burns hotter than the desert wind.]

“名铸剑出，不悔不归。”

“My name is forged in steel, my blade thirsts without remorse.”

[铁牛派虽退，手不离刀。]

[The Iron Ox faction withdraws, but every finger still curls around cold steel.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]

“让玉门断壁 …”

“Let the ruins of the Jade Gate …”

[刀锋划地，裂石如骨碎。]

[Her saber splits the earth, stone shatters like a spine.]

萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]

“… 判谁凤血承天！”

“… decide whose veins bear the Phoenix’s truth!”

[众人退时，守卫扬玉尘，五行阵成而即散，如凤涅磐。]

[As factions retreat, guards raise jade-ash, the Wuxing symbols form then dissolves like a phoenix’s rebirth from the ash.]

[幕落时，唯余：]

[The curtains close on:]

萨囤的刀 [Sàtūn’s blade]

插在玉阶 [embedded in jade steps]

白思的羽 [Bái Sī’s feather]

飘向冷月 [drifting toward the icy moon]

铁姑的鞭 [Tiě Gū’s whip]

缠着半截断诏 [coiled around a torn edict]

上书： [which reads:]

“朕死之年…”

“The year I die…”

“…血菩萨现。”

“…the Blood Bodhisattva comes.”

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Notes:

Wuxia (pronounced: “woo-syah”) is known for its melodrama and camp, breathtaking swordplay and high-flying martial arts (literally, the actors defy gravity via Wire Fu, as seen in The Matrix). Here are some terms that I need to explain:

Lǐguān, Yùshǐ and Jinyiwei are different sorts of Imperial court officials. Wuxing, often translated as the Five Phases (see diagram below), is a conceptual scheme used in many Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, such as characterizing the interactions and relationships within various sciences, medicines, politics and religions. Whereas an Emperor was compared to a dragon, an Empress (especially Wu Zetian) was compared to a phoenix. A Zhanmadao or “Horse-chopping blade” was a large sword popular during the Song dynasty. Being ignorant in many things I chose to set the play in a mythical ancient China, to avoid that whole “historically accurate” razzamatazz.