Preparing for a summer trip to China. June-July in Shanghai-Beijing. After years of living in cool summer Seattle, the prospect a bit on the daunting side. Somehow, the exercise of translating Sun Lei’s poem (and pairing it with his painting “Purple Boat”) eases concern with just how hot it will be.
“Tendency” 取向
Going out. Summer
Facing this congealing wave of heat
It often becomes some kind of observer
Not far off, it staring down at virtually everyone
and the rain it expels is supple
wiping out half the sky
But an evening rain is in fact a kind of brutality
Sending main thoroughfares careening
down to lower ground
Going for a walk in summer
Is to go out looking for love. To go out in protest.
To go out and twist up this life.
At least, its to go out and lay claim to a slip of shade
Gingerly heading home along the tree shadows
Along roads many times obscured
And the few stones that comprise resistance
Give me a deep impression
They are lazily arranged there
and they are absolutely quiet
Cooling my own high self-esteem down a bit
出门。夏天
迎面是团结中的热浪。
它经常被引申为一种观察,
不远处,它盯着几乎所有的人。
它所排斥的雨软塌塌的,
半空中就灭了。
而雨在傍晚实际上是一种蛮劲,
剥夺使主要的街道
斜向更低处。
夏天去散步
是去等一次爱。去违背。
去歪曲这一生。
至少,也是去认领一叶之荫,
小心翼翼地沿着树影回家,
沿着多次失明的路。
几块石头形成的阻力
让我由衷地感激。
它们懒散地列在那儿,
它们的寂静。
迫使我的尊严凉下来。