29/05/2026
What does it mean to descend into darkness every day, knowing that tomorrow is never guaranteed?
In the poem collection "Gathering Star Dust in the Coal Shaft," poet Yu Mu gives voice to the lives, fears, sacrifices, and courage of coal miners whose stories are rarely told.
This video features selected excerpts from the collection, offering a glimpse into the realities behind the coal that has powered economies and fueled development for generations.
As the world moves toward a cleaner energy future, these poems remind us that every energy transition is also a human story that must honor workers, families, and communities along the way.
Watch, listen, and reflect.🌱
Excerpts from Yu Mu's Poem Collection
Gathering Star Dust in the Coal Shaft
A Coal Miner's Will
1
What comes first? Tomorrow? Or an accident?
As a coal miner, though,
in the darkness, there is no tomorrow.
Accidents can come at any time, I know.
A Coal Miner's Will
2
Down the shaft, up the shaft,
eating, sleeping.
Each day at the coal mine
is a lifetime
in a day.
So, what we leave behind
is nothing but
endless darkness in the endless tunnels.
A Coal Miner's Will
5
For the first time since our wedding,
my wife shall visit my coal mine.
Here are some specifics for you:
My locker is #408.
Inside are the bread and eggs.
I've saved them from my shifts down the pit.
Remember to take them home for our kids.
My dormitory is #117.
My bed is by the window.
Underneath
are some new workwear I've saved.
My father can wear them for farming.
Remember to take them to him.
To My Coal Miner Brothers
9
First thing off duty,
please give your family a call
because
waiting is scarier than death itself.
10
If—
if we have a next life,
we shall not choose to work in a coal mine.
But we do not have it.
We only have this life.
We can only choose to live.
From the poem collection Gathering Star Dust in the Coal Shaft
