Gong Zhijian
A REASON NOT TO CRY
spring wind, a pair of cattle trying to mate
first time it won’t work
second time, with the help of the holder
they finish the old rite of life
joy is so short, giving birth takes so long
spring wind, please give this moaning cow
a reason not to cry
Tr. MW, May 2017
Jian Tianping
STEHENDE KÜHE
Ein Stück Paprika ins Aug,
dann legt sich das Rind vor Schmerz nicht mehr hin,
bleibt die ganze Zeit stehen.
So haben mehr Rinder Platz auf dem Lastwagen.
Drei, vier Tage stehen sie gepfercht,
bis zur Ankunft
am Schlachthaus.
2017-02-19
Übersetzt von MW im März 2017
Yi Sha
QUIT SMOKING! A DREAM
crack!
she sucks a cigarette butt so it glows
in the twilight
slowly walks up to me
lace garter stockings
leather boots, leather bra
chews on her butt
smoky red lips
and I am
just wearing briefs
strapped to a chair with a tall back
two evil sisters
stand by my sides
she blows me a mouthful of smoke
bends down and asks
will you quit smoking or not?
the angle is perfect for me to see
her cleavage
I firmly say: “no!”
her cigarette butt goes into my chest
I howl and I stare at her
surging
half-covered breasts
going up and down
when I wake up
she’s my wife
9/24/16
Tr. MW, Sept. 2016
《戒烟吧2-一个梦》
嚓一声
她吸亮了烟头
在昏暗的光里
慢慢向我走过来
她穿着网格的
蕾丝吊带裤袜
皮靴 皮胸罩 咬着烟屁
的 熏红的嘴唇
而我
只穿了条直角短裤
反绑在一个高背椅上
旁边还站着两个 凶恶的
姐妹
她对我吹了一口烟
低下身问 戒 还是不戒
这个角度刚好让我看见
她乳沟的深处
我坚定地 不 戒
然后这娘们儿
就把烟头戳在我胸口
我边嚎叫 边盯着她
半掩的乳峰
在上下起伏
醒来后
这个女人其实是我的老婆
16/9/24
Han Dong
AM BRUNNENRAND
am brunnenrand hält er seinen sohn, seinen liebling,
sagt zu meinem vater: “in zukunft
können unsere kinder nur zum militär gehen,
einen anderen weg wird es nicht geben. “
sie haben noch etwas anderes gesagt,
wahrscheinlich über die ernte.
sie hatten nicht so viele themen,
aber kinder bespricht man nicht wie das wetter.
niemand hätte gedacht, dass eines der kinder
sich an die worte erinnert. außerdem weiß er noch
schmerz im gesicht eines vaters.
vielleicht war es nur eine lästige motte.
vierzig jahre später erinner ich mich an die szene.
am brunnenrand sind keine väter,
erst recht keine söhne. nur dieser kopflose satz
geht durch offene maisblätter,
durch teufelszwirn der sich schlängelt,
im abendlicht und im schatten
von unten herauf.
hat sich das andere kind
vielleicht auch einen satz meines vaters gemerkt?
sucht er auch nach mir,
um einen satz auszutauschen? jedenfalls
reden wir noch über das heurige wetter.
Übersetzt von MW im April 2016
Yi Sha 《大年三十的夜》
NACHT VOR NEUJAHR
ich hab ein schönes lied auf den lippen
hab den text geändert
es ist von der neujahrsnacht
“soviel krach, soviel krach”
ich brenn feuerwerk ab
mein sohn folgt mir nach
die raketen die wir angeschleppt haben
sind etwas zuviel für unseren hof
wir werden höflich ersucht auf die straße zu gehen
vor einem hotel ist noch genug platz
heut nacht ist der himmel erhellt
das ganze land jauchzet und tanzt
als wir fertig sind mit unserm feuerwerk
dreh ich mich um
krieg einen schreck
das hotel ist erleuchtet
mit roten laternen
es gibt sogar einen lebendigen spruch:
ein hockender steinerner löwe
zu seinen füßen ein liegender bettler
und weiße schrift auf rotem grund:
“HARMONISCHE GESELLSCHAFT”
2007
Übersetzt von MW im Februar 2016
Yi Sha 《纹心》
INS HERZ GERITZT
auch wenn es
das herz ist das blutet
hört es auf eines tages
die narbe verkrustet
die kruste reißt ab
das jucken das bleibt
weckt den schmerz nicht mehr auf
aber
was eingebrannt ist
ein mal auf dem herzen
deiner generation
unauslöschliches
muttermal für euch alle
oder aber
nur für dich selbst
2008
Übersetzt von MW im Februar 2016
伊沙
《大年三十的夜》
我把一首好听的歌
改了词儿
挂在嘴上
“大年三十的夜啊
这么闹这么闹……”
歌声送我去放炮
儿子是我的小尾巴
我们搬运来的大花炮
超出了小区的限制
被人客气地请到大街上
一家宾馆的门前来放
今夜漫天礼花
恰似歌舞升平的国家
当我放完了所有的炮
猛回头
人惊心
但见宾馆灯火明
大红灯笼高高挂
配之一副活春联：
上联是尊石狮子——蹲着
下联是个老乞丐——卧着
红底白字横批曰：“和谐社会”
（2007）
《纹心》
即便是
流在心里的血
也会有止住的一天
那伤疤也会结痂
然后撕去
留下一点微痒
咬不醒疼痛的记忆
可是啊
它毕竟还是像金印一样
烙在了你的心上
那图案似纹心
是你们这代人
不可磨灭的胎记
或者只属于
你自己
（2008）
Chun Sue
EXODUS
Let’s say everyone has a soul.
Feeling pain,
struggling.
Let’s say life
is a movie.
Won’t be too long,
there’ll be an answer.
Let’s say at night they can also cry tears.
Then what I am doing
is what should be done.
I should not be laughed at
by anyone.
2013
Tr. MW, 2016
出埃及记
春树
假设每个人都是有灵魂的
有痛苦
挣扎
假设生活
就像电影
不用等太久
就有回答
假设他们也能在夜晚流泪
那我的所做所为
就是正确的
就不应该
遭到嘲笑
2013
BABIES’ FACES
there is nothing in babies’ faces but wonder,
there is nothing in colours in clouds round the moon.
there is sadness in babies’ faces and pain
there is laughter and everything you forget.
there is nothing in babies’ faces but wonder,
there is nothing in colours in clouds round the moon.
MW Febr. 21st, 2016 元宵节 Lantern Festival
Tang Guo
CHILDHOOD GAMES
they tied my hands and my feet
let me hop up the stairs to second floor
if I made it all the way up
hopping up without falling
I would get a handful of candy
tight ropes around hands and feet
I had to hop like a frog
the first jump was easy
the second stair was not too bad
it got hard later on
grinning grown-ups upstairs on the landing
their hands full of candy
gleaming in colours
I held down my pain
kept telling myself to be strong, to go on
many times I almost fell on the stairs
but in the end I held on to myself
I raised my small hands up together
thanking someone somewhere beyond
I finally got the candy I dreamed of
then grown-ups got bored and dispersed
May 2015
Tr. MW, Nov. 2015
Li Dian’er
SISTER-IN-LAW ZHANG HONGPING
Zhang Hongping from Nanchenzan village,
from the family of Wu Zhanlei,
when she was pregnant the second time,
the time period between the two pregnancies
did not meet national regulations.
After the late-term abortion,
they threw that ball of flesh
into a dirty plastic bucket.
Her mom prodded one or two times into the bucket with fire tongs,
That piece of flesh twitched one or two times without a sound
Her mom’s fingers shook one or two times.
”It’s a girl,“
said her mom.
Every time she talks about it,
Zhang Hongping makes a pause at this moment.
“After that,” she says,
“‘cause it was a girl I cried not so hard.”
Tr. MW, November 2015
3 A
MOTHER HAS NOT CHANGED ONE BIT
she went through the cultural revolution
through the great leap famine
through working her farm on her own
went through village loneliness
went through labour pains
went through years of poverty
she carried her son on her back
a dozen miles to the next clinic
went through years of not speaking
went through times of great fires
she did not change one bit
like other people of the same age
she became old in her best years
in their richest dreams they became skinny
she had five children
her five children gave birth in turn
to her ten grandchildren
through her busy life
through stomach aches and tinnitus
through fevers and colds
through getting sick
through the moon waxing and waning
when she gets tired and falls asleep
she will go through a big fire
becoming the air
I breathe every day
Tr. MW, June 2015
Ma Lan
THE PAST OF THE APPLES
the apples that year
made up on the stage
caressed my disease
like one crazy bun
sexy, beautiful, close to the skin
the apples that year
flew down to earth
they lit up my road coming home
oh how they needed photosynthesis
I held her skin and all
then I understood
the pain in my back
apples in their last year
your body most pure
blown ripe by the wind
no way to go forward, no path to retreat
a pair made of jade like ice doesn’t melt
cannot be put to rest
2003-03-29
Tr. MW, Feb. 2015
马兰
《苹果往事》
那一年的苹果
粉墨登场
爱抚了我的疾病
像一个疯狂的馒头
性感，美丽，皮肉难分
那一年的苹果
飞身落地
照亮我回家的路
多么需要光合作用
我连皮抱紧她
才明白我腰痛的姻缘
最后一年的苹果呵
你贞洁的身子
已被季风吹熟
无力前进，也无法后退
仿佛一对经久不化的玉石
再不能入土为安
2003,3,29
Ru Ye
YOU CAN‘T GET AWAY FROM THE PAIN
the doctor at the physical said
your IUD
is an old model
not easy to get it out
you fill out an application form at your work unit
get a stamp from the family planning bureau where you live
then come again and we’ll extract it
in your mind’s eye
you see the old elm tree for hanging the laundry
iron wire grown into the tree
scar looks like cutting a body in half
now you want the wire pulled out from your flesh
your knees getting weak
People’s Hospital corridor
you sit thirty minutes
and still can’t get up
11/9/14
Tr. MW, Dec. 2014
Photo by Michael Gessner
Yi Sha
READING AT TUCSON POETRY FESTIVAL: OCT. 25th, 2014
1) 《车过黄河》 CROSSING THE YELLOW RIVER
2) 《9/11 心里报告》 9/11 REPORT FROM THE COUCH
3) 《中国底层》 CHINA DOWN AT THE BOTTOM
4) 《性爱教育》 SEX EDUCATION
5) 《在美国使馆遭拒签》 HAVING MY VISA REFUSED
6) 《二 泉映月》 THE MOON REFLECTED IN SECOND SPRING
7) 《烟民萨达姆》 SADDAM THE SMOKER
8) 《进入美国》 ENTERING AMERICA
9) 《佛蒙特创作中心》 VERMONT STUDIO CENTER
10) 《一年》 ONE YEAR
11) 《在美国再忆钟品》IN AMERICA, THINKING OF ZHONG PIN
12) 《隔壁的歌声》 SONG FROM NEXT DOOR
13) 《梦（442)》 DREAM #442 (it is winter/ I’m in an internet cafe/ …)
14) 《佛州吟》 SONG OF VERMONT
15) 《烦人的鲁奖》 GODDAMN LU-PRIZE
Presented by Tucson Poet Laureate Rebecca Seiferle!
Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea, 6-8 pm
photo by Michael Gessner
4
Yi Sha
SEX EDUCATION
One of our travels
We didn’t get out very much –
Nine years ago. Led us to Qingdao –
A summer of love
Sand castles, writing on rocks
Fresh clams in small restaurants
Very cheap. I remember
We lived in a school
A hotel for the summer
It was our summer of
Watching movies together
One night we sat
In the video room
All the way until morning
There was a flick about all kinds of fish
We were attracted
And then we felt
Shaken without compare
There was a fish called salmon
They had this one time
Of uninhibited communion
At the end of their lives
Fish of great beauty
Nine years ago
We don’t remember
How great it was
But no-one forgets
The pain at the end
1997
Tr. MW, 2014/2
Photo by Howard Romero
伊沙
《性爱教育》
那是我们不多的
出门旅行中的一次
九年前 在青岛
那是属于爱情的夏天
海滩上的砂器和字迹
小饭店里的鲜贝
非常便宜 记得
我们住在一所
学校里 在夏季
它临时改成了旅店
那是我们共同的
爱看电影的夏天
一个晚上 我们
在录像厅里
坐到了天亮
一部介绍鱼类的片子
吸引了我们
使我们感到
震惊无比
那种鱼叫三文鱼
一种以一次
酣畅淋漓的交媾
为生命终结的
美艳之鱼
九年了
我们没有记住
它的美丽
只是难以忘记
这种残酷的结局
1997
Photo by Howard Romero
photo by Howard Romero
Xiang Lianzi
FIRST STORY
“In danger the sea cucumber will split itself
one half it gives the world to devour,
the other half escapes.” – from W. Szymborska, Autotomy.
I said let’s not talk poetry at the lunar new year let us tell stories
like a bricklayer half of his head bashed in by half of a steel pipe
like he and his sick room friends
arguing anything, twitching like sleepwalking
he says 3+2=1
like three fingers plus two equals one hand
two hands together equals one pair
like what a rat hates most is rat poison
whoever loves eating rat poison most must be a rat
like I said they were arguing anything
from mathematics into philosophy
from singular into plural
from fingers into a skull bashed in
into rats, poison, leaks or balloons
like 11+11=22, 22-2=2 and so on
he said not that leaks cannot be fixed
just like rat poison will always be digested by rats
just like rats knocked a hole in his skull
his skull has a leak, like a balloon
a leaking balloon is very hard to blow up
just like his half-bashed in skull pops in and out with a yawn
he said in the box with the rat poison there is no rat
rat poison is very bad for rats
just like reading is very bad for your head
just like rats eating his brain slipping into his head
when he said he had a headache, I had a headache
like he wanted me to put rat poison into his brain
like he said: “I’ll soon be an idiot
when they have finished my brain
my boss will dump me, my girlfriend dumps me”
like he is all desperate
crying his heart out like a wolf
howling just like a cat who cannot catch rats
like one hundred rats cannot overcome one single cat
he said: no-one can figure it out, nobody can fix this leak
except me, I have a method, I take a bit of cement, very good quality
mix it with alcohol, ts ts. believe me I have the technique.
he pointed at his broken temporal bone like pointing at some leak on a roof
like a leak on a roof he was fixing
Tr. MW, Oct. 2013
