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Poetry

Very Cheesy and Also Rather Blah

By Jing Xianghai
Translated from Chinese by Lee Yew Leong
Taiwan’s Jing Xianghai evokes love, commitment, and heartbreak in this poem.

carefully giving it some thought
the lines on my palm[1] have deflected for you some now
I suppose my dirty beard, my fiendish leg hair will graduate in time
that someone of my years should care about minutiae
but it’s true I never held you in my arms

those training grounds where one prepares for hardship
even the most majestic backdrop wouldn’t be a match for
this bucktoothed “Cheese” into the camera
ke-cha!
then good-bye good-bye

no one can escape his position
dreams, love poems, and sorries
are easily broken things
many on Earth have been assigned to play perpetrator
many more victim

it’s just that
if somebody should set me down again carelessly
I couldn’t take it the second time

thank you thank you it all started from that day
together we stood boldly by the precipice to pee
behind us a lake brimmed with the noise of crows
in my giddy state, I felt that someone of good heart
(and besides our pees were kinda crossing)
would have his love returned

at this point, the momentous decision must be made
for whom you mustn’t readily drop to your knees
for whose sake you will spend a lifetime
strengthening troops
building up your front

for example taking a pair of scissors to the couple shot at the hot springs
                     frozen at “Cheese”
holding it over the most important part
ke-cha!
then good-bye good-bye

[1] In Chinese palmistry, it is believed that the lines on a palm change to reflect a shift in its owner’s fate.

© Jing Xianghai. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2013 by Lee Yew Leong. All rights reserved.

English Chinese (Original)

carefully giving it some thought
the lines on my palm[1] have deflected for you some now
I suppose my dirty beard, my fiendish leg hair will graduate in time
that someone of my years should care about minutiae
but it’s true I never held you in my arms

those training grounds where one prepares for hardship
even the most majestic backdrop wouldn’t be a match for
this bucktoothed “Cheese” into the camera
ke-cha!
then good-bye good-bye

no one can escape his position
dreams, love poems, and sorries
are easily broken things
many on Earth have been assigned to play perpetrator
many more victim

it’s just that
if somebody should set me down again carelessly
I couldn’t take it the second time

thank you thank you it all started from that day
together we stood boldly by the precipice to pee
behind us a lake brimmed with the noise of crows
in my giddy state, I felt that someone of good heart
(and besides our pees were kinda crossing)
would have his love returned

at this point, the momentous decision must be made
for whom you mustn’t readily drop to your knees
for whose sake you will spend a lifetime
strengthening troops
building up your front

for example taking a pair of scissors to the couple shot at the hot springs
                     frozen at “Cheese”
holding it over the most important part
ke-cha!
then good-bye good-bye

[1] In Chinese palmistry, it is believed that the lines on a palm change to reflect a shift in its owner’s fate.

© Jing Xianghai. By arrangement with the author. Translation © 2013 by Lee Yew Leong. All rights reserved.

很C而且沒禮貌

 

仔細想起來
手上的掌紋已經為你扭曲過幾次
那些髒鬍鬚和兇惡腿毛們
會一起畢業吧
這麼大年紀依然計較這些小花樣
但確實從來也沒有抱在一起過

那些將身體鍛鍊再鍛鍊的風雨操場
背景再宏偉也抵抗不過
對著照相機露出雙虎牙說「C——」
喀擦一聲
然後再見再見

沒有人能夠倖免
所謂夢和情詩和對不起
都是易碎品
很多人被塑造成加害者
更多人被塑造成受害者

就是突然覺得
不能再被
小心輕放

謝謝你謝謝你一切就從那日開始
一起站直勇敢對著絕崖深谷小便
背後是一片鳥聲的江湖
我自覺暈眩,覺得是一個善人
(何況我們的尿尿真的都是分岔的)
必須得到被愛的報應

從此必須慎重決定
哪些是不要輕易下跪的
哪些將用一輩子繼續
加派人手
壯大場面

譬如拿起剪刀對著溫泉裡一起淫笑說「C——」的雙人照
最重要的部位
喀擦一聲
然後再見再見

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