Benina Hu, 曾 (céng)

[an indication that an action once happened, or a state that once existed]

the sentence that popped up
when I translated this character,

discovered within an interview
conducted half a world away
spoken by a familiar face.

I cannot read the lines around your eyes
when you speak of a pursuit
and you smile

so
I look back
In order to defy the understanding
that I lack