The Brooklyn Rail

A Grapevine

On the street, a pretty woman complains to me
About her monotonous dreams, and I tell her
To plant a grapevine
At a place she often dreams of

I say: it will grow fast
Put forth new shoots
And soon climb up the old elm next to it
Or it will wrap itself around a rock
Thus, everything will be different

You know, for every person in this world
There is another thing that shares
The same fate with him

Believe it or not, your breast will be full again
When it bears a berry, small like a star
A blackbird will peck at it out of the blue

Quick as lightning, the blackbird appears
From a man’s dream hundreds of miles away
And has been bred for years already

I cannot tell you who he is, where he lives
Because if I did, in some courtyard
Wild grasses would die out

 

 

一棵葡萄

在街上，一个美丽的妇人
向我抱怨她单调的梦，而我告诉她
应该在她常梦到的地方
植一株葡萄

我说：它将长势旺盛
抽出新芽
并且会很快攀上旁边一棵年老的榆树
要么，缠住一块石头
因此一切会有所不同

要知道，人在这世上
会有另一样东西和他承受
相同的命运

你信不信。你的乳房也将再次充盈
当它长出星小的果实时
但一只黑鸟会突如其来地啄食

简直如同闪电
一只黑鸟，来自百里之外一个男人的梦境
并且已被豢养了多年

我不能告诉你他是谁，住在何处
因为一旦说出来，某个院子里
疯长的荒草就会死去

Common Sense on Being Human

Every person
Has a dog that wants to be close to him
A number of days that loathe him
And a prickle that tries to trip him

Every person has another person
That wants to be him, a house
That makes him happy
And a box that holds his sweet dreams

In front of the billboard on the sidewalk
Stands a dead person’s son
He stands where his father once stood

Besides, how can you explain
The hand that once waved you farewell
Now holds in some courtyard
A pot with a long handle burning

 

 

关于人的常识

每一个人
总有一条想与他亲近的狗
几个讨厌他的日子
和一根总想绊住他的芒剌

每一个人总有另一个
想成为他的人，总有一间使他
快活的房子
以及一只盒子，做着盛放他的美梦

人行道上的那个广告牌前
站着一个已经死去的人的儿子
他站在父亲以前站立的地方

还有，你如何解释
那只曾向你道了永别的手
如今在某个院子里，正握着
发烫的长柄锅

The Visit

We walk into a house
Cooling from many who have died there

It used to be a barn, a hospital
And an interrogation room

On the walls hang iron hooks
Wooden torture instruments, long tables
Now covered in flannel

Tendrils drop through the window
And in a sudden wind resemble
A woman’s long hair here once before

Past the wide gate that leads to the backyard
There is a camphor tree
That sways and slowly grows big and black
Perhaps it is turning into a god

The light dims
No one talks anymore, we remain silent
Perhaps that’s how it should be

Finally someone speaks up: should we go on
The lights are on now
All of us burst into laughter

Our faces put on an expression of home
And we let go of each other’s hands
That a moment ago were clasped together

 

 

参观

我们走进一座房子
它因其中死去过很多人而阴凉

它曾是谷仓、医院
和审讯室

墙上挂着铁勾
木制刑具，长条形的桌子上
如今铺着绒布

藤蔓垂挂在窗口
在骤至的风中像以前这里
某个女人的长发

透过宽大的通向后院的门
一棵樟树
摇摆不定，渐渐变黑变大
说不定正在变成神

光线转暗
再也没有谁说话，我们保持缄默
也许就该如此

终于有人开口了：是否还要走下去
灯光亮了
所有的人都大笑起来

脸上带着回到家的表情
并且松开了彼此
刚才还紧攥在一起的手