You Might Have Been My Brother...
You might have been my brother, especially at dawn
Milky vapors rise into the sky,
That white adolescence wafting into my lungs.
But I woo that white air,
Let it grow wings of a peacock,
Naïve and overwhelmed with joy.
You might have been my apple, especially today,
But the mashed pulp soured,
Like a tuft of hair bleached in time.
Only the Adam’s apple allowed me to breathe,
To marry my feathers to your rooted tree,
But you saw through all this.
You might have been my ghost, especially tonight,
A shy corner of my ballet,
A painting, a flower, asking an exact identity.
How could I know she was there all the time,
A magnolia blooming in schizophrenia,
The vulva of an angel roving the sky
Crushing anyone who dared to stare.
Forgive the shout of the peacock’s tail.
Mercy to my lungs blowing white gales,
Always the anxious prisoner.
你可能是我的兄弟……
你可能是我的兄弟，特别是当黎明
那飘向上空的高兴的牛奶味
像白色的青春安慰着肺
我却让肺向白色示爱
让肺长出了孔雀的翅膀
因为我幼稚，还因为我狂喜
你可能是我的苹果，特别是当今天
氧气在肉中失去了甜酸味
像光阴流逝中的一团毛
唯有中年的喉结劝说我呼吸
劝说羽翎应该和树根结婚
你以事后的思考看穿了这一切
你可能是我的幻影，特别是当午夜
从我的怀里，露出纸上芭蕾
羞涩的一角，像一朵花要求精确的身份
我怎么知道，这一切是她造成的
她可能是玉兰花，精神分裂的花
她像飘在上空的天使的阴道
谁注目，谁就要受到惩罚
原谅孔雀大胆的尾巴呼喊吧
饶恕我的肺，刮着白色的狂风
因为我不自由，还因为我紧张
Translated from the Chinese by Stephen Haven and Li Yongyi
Tang Danhong’s most recent collection of poems appeared in 2012, The X-ray, Sweet Nights.
This poem first appeared in Issue 10 of The Common. Click here to purchase.
This poem first appeared in Issue 10 of The Common. Click here to purchase.
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