Three poems by Li Suo translated from Chinese
White Mulberries
the cemetery east of river bank road
used to be the secret garden
of our childhood
mulberry trees bursting with white fruit
pale clear nectar
greeting the bright white sunlight
and in night’s phosphorescence
the bravest boy once
found a human bone
and chased us while brandishing it
I was thirteen that year
and crossing river bank road
saw a dead child
his brains oozing
Translated into English by Lucas Klein
白桑椹
滨河路东边的墓地
曾是我们童年的
秘密园地
桑树结满饱胀的白果
白皙的汁水
迎着白亮的日光
在夜晚的磷火中
最勇敢的男孩
找到一块人骨
挥舞着在我们背后追跑
那年我十三岁
穿过滨河路回家的时候
看见一个死孩子
流淌着脑浆
Silk Trees
the shadow moves along
with the sun
mom and I switched places three times
before finally sitting
on that bench where
grandma passed out and didn’t wake up
that was on the north side of the square
between two silk trees
mom described it to me simply
that early spring afternoon
what time she got there
where the doctor was squatting while administering cpr
then we talked about her life
and my life
the kids flying around the square
like so many loaches
sliding into the sea of sunlight
when mom mentioned
me having kids
I sat in closer to her
to make room to the left of us
for grandma and my kids
to sit there too
Translated into English by Lucas Klein
合欢
树荫跟着太阳
不停移动
我和妈妈换了三个地方
终于还是坐到了
姥姥晕倒再也没能醒来的
那条长椅上
那是在小广场北侧
两棵合欢树中间
妈妈简单向我描述了
初春的那个下午
她几点到的
医生是蹲在哪个位置进行抢救的
接着我们聊了更多她的生活
和我的生活
广场上飞跑的小孩
像一条条泥鳅
滑进日光的海中
妈妈说到如果等我
有了孩子
我朝她旁边坐了坐
我们左边因此有了更多位置
就像姥姥和我的孩子
都坐在了那里
Firelight
four puppies sleep in the shade
father adopted them and
fed them with bones and scraps
when he leaves
all four follow
in a neat line
tender and a little silly
last week father crashed his motorcycle
his left leg still has a limp
he starts to drink at lunch
his face becoming red as heated steel
after drinking, his speech slows
closing and opening that mouth of his
to lecture those of us whose only choice is to listen
he never loses the thread
aging and obdurate
as old Corleone
from The Godfather
but father never knew this was Marlon Brando
these years, he’s lived in border towns by Pakistan, by Kazakhstan
he seems farther and farther away from me
yet even when I’m in trouble
I still lie to him. I say I’m fine, I’ve got it under control
even though I can’t show weakness to my father
seeing as he let me go
he shouldn’t think of seeing me come back
to roost. These three things of mine—
quick temper
love of misadventure
and reticence—
who told him to give them to me?
Translated into English by Henry Zhang
火光
四只小狗蜷卧树荫
父亲收养了它们
喂以骨头饭食
父亲出门的时候
它们四个同时跟着
排成整齐的一列
温情又略显滑稽
上周五父亲骑摩托摔了一跤
左腿还在跛着
他午餐时间便开始喝酒
很快脸红得像烧热的铁
酒后他语速更慢
张合着厚厚的嘴唇
对必定要聆听的人开始训话
他有条不紊
衰老而又坚定
像极了电影教父中的老柯里昂
但父亲从不知道什么马龙·白兰度
这些年他一直生活在西部边城
从中巴边境到中哈边境
有时我觉得他离我越来越远
深陷困局时依然对他撒谎
说我很好说我都能搞定
我想就算对于父亲
我也不可示弱
他既然放飞了我
就别想再能收回
谁让他给了我三样东西
易于上火
热爱冒险
沉默
