Two Poems by
Zhu Xiao Di
Water in Front of House
Water in front of house
blue and clear
it’s part of the Atlantic
A man
sitting alone
facing the water
at Boston Harbor
leaves withering
Autumn leaves
behind him
Should his
expected person
or event
even the moment
eventually come
across the ocean
房前的水
房前的水
碧蓝、澄澈
大西洋的一泓
一个男人
独自坐在
波士顿港湾
面朝大海
秋叶凋零
所期盼的人
或事
甚至时光
终究会
踏洋而至吗
Pronouns
I’ve watched you my whole life
You never follow my expectations
Surprising me is your fun
Absorbing the results is my fate
He behaves as if he doesn’t know me
Always doing what he wants
Never considering my feelings
Except when he needs my condolence
You don’t need to worry about him
He’ll grow out of himself
Becoming whoever he wants to be
Or whom he has to be nevertheless
I’m not talking about anyone else
But myself and only myself
Just the difference in using pronouns
Has fooled you and me and him too
代词
我一生都在注视着你
你从不遵循我的期望
让我惊讶是你的乐趣
吞食后果是我的命运
他好像不认识我一样
总是做他想要做的事
从来不考虑我的感受
除非他需要我的抚慰
你无需为他操心烦恼
他总会成长为他自己
成为他想要成为的人
或者只能是那样的人
我不是在谈论其他人
而仅仅是在说我自己
只是代词使用的区别
就这样愚弄了你我他
Zhu Xiao Di is the author of Thirty Years in a Red House (memoir), Tales of Judge Dee (novel), Leisure Thoughts on Idle Books (essays in Chinese), and recently some poems at E·ratio, Eunoia Review, Pennsylvania Literary Journal, The Beatnik Cowboy and WestWard Quarterly. He contributes to Father: Famous Writers Celebrate the Bond Between Father and Child (anthology).