Unworthy

From Bless You, Three Worlds by Dai Pan (潘岱). Poem 11.

People ask me, unabashedly,
What value I carry, what worth I hold.
Left my homeland, reached New York's shore,
Became an artist, spending more and more.
I cannot recall why I should be valued at all.

Unabashedly, they count and calculate,
From dawn till dusk, at tables they sit and wait,
You question my value, my worth you debate,
While wasting your life in this ledger of fate.
I step through the doorway, trying to escape,
You follow and ask me, what price is my rate?

Should I answer, should I not,
Should I even care?
My worth and my value—how would I be aware?

Cite as: Dai Pan, "Unworthy," Three Worlds, Bless You, poem 11, 2025. https://daipan.ink/bless-you/unworthy

Bless You 11

Unworthy

People ask me, unabashedly,
What value I carry, // what worth I hold.
Left my homeland, reached New York's shore,
Became an artist, spending more and more.
I cannot recall why I // should be valued at all.

Unabashedly, they count and calculate,
From dawn till dusk, // at tables they sit and wait,
You question my value, // my worth you debate,
While wasting your life // in this ledger of fate.
I step through the doorway, // trying to escape,
You follow and ask me, // what price is my rate?

Should I answer, should I not,
Should I even care?
My worth and my // value—how would I be aware?