Cry: Seven Poems on COVID-19

Cry

By: Hua Qing & Jake Seagroves (Translator)

I’ve wanted to cry my eyes out, as a man,
Yet as a most ordinary coward, I don’t dare cry
Because of the reputation of men, I don’t dare cry
Because of the reason that is known by everybody
But beyond crying, there is nothing I can do
Those who are loved, those like Wenliang, those with nobody
In this long night, we cannot walk outside
Cannot hug each other and cry, or even shake hands
Cannot keep too close of a distance
Cannot send heartfelt messages
Crying is all we have
First I choke up, then I sob,
then I burst into tears
Yes, I will no longer uphold the worthless reputation of men
I will only loudly wail, don’t stop me
Let me cry to my heart’s content
I’ll cry for the wronged souls not so far away
I’ll cry for those repressive days
I’ll cry until those tightly shut windows are open
I’ll cry to dampen prohibitions large and small
I’ll cry to burst all of your tears
I’ll cry to reclaim my right to cry
I’ll cry to topple these endless brick walls
I’ll cry to run away these springtime dark clouds
I’ll cry to melt the soiled snow
I’ll cry to bring February’s thundersCry then, just cry, those who are loved, those with nobody
Let us all come together and cry to our hearts’ content
See who can hold back the billowing thunder of our cries
See who can take us to a world without the sound of crying

哭

作者：华清

早就想哭一场了, 作为一男人
一个最普通的懦夫, 我不敢哭
不敢哭一方面是因为男人的面子
另一个原因是众所周知
但此刻除了哭, 我别无所能
亲人们, 文亮们, 非亲非故的人们
在这长夜里, 我们不能走动
不能相拥而泣, 甚至不能握手
不能有太近的距离
不能发任性的信息
所以就只有哭
起初是哽咽, 继而是抽泣
而后是放声大哭
是的, 我不再要男人的破烂面子
我只要放声地恸哭, 不要拦我
让我痛痛快快地哭一场吧
我要哭那些不远的冤魂
我要哭这些天来的压抑
我要哭开这紧闭的窗户
我要哭湿大大小小的禁令
我要哭崩你们所有人的眼泪
我要哭回我哭的权利
我要哭倒这无边的砖墙
我要哭走这早春的乌云
我要哭化这弄脏了的积雪
我要哭来二月的春雷
哭吧, 哭呵, 亲人们, 非亲非故的人们
让我们一起来哭个痛快
看谁能阻止这春雷滚滚的哭声
看谁能将我们迁至没有哭声的世界

For Men’s Breathing

By: Shiwei Liu & Jake Seagroves (Translator)

What you said
was as natural as breathing for life

You didn’t understand
how breathing can be controlled by a virus

That’s the poison that enters the lungs
A city’s breathing is being sheltered away

You saved men’s breathing
What you said stopped your breathing

It was that kind of tragedy
that made you into a hero

Even more heart-wrenching than any tragedy:
what you said was simply about breathing

为人的呼吸

作者：刘诗伟

你所说的
如同生命自然之呼吸

你不明白
呼吸怎么可以被疫毒掌管

那是入肺的毒
一个城市的呼吸正在遮挡

你抢救呼吸
你所说的终止了你的呼吸

这是怎样的悲剧
让你成为英雄

比所有悲剧更伤情
你说的只是关于呼吸

We Are in Darkness

By: Shen Haobo & John Broach (Translator)

We all stand alone
I can’t see your face
you can’t see mine
Anger has lost its shape
Sorrow has lost its meaning
We grasp the last candle
mourning for the lost ones
but it always dwindles away
Caution is our crime
Fear is our fate
Whoever is content to live like this
does not deserve to see the light of the morrow

我们在黑暗中

作者：沈浩波

各自茕茕孑立
我看不到你的面孔
你也看不到我的
愤怒没有形状
悲伤并无意义
手中凭吊的蜡烛
很快就要熄灭怯
懦是我们的罪恶恐惧是我们的命运
谁若甘心于此
就不配活到天明

If I Still Live On

Written on a cold night of the novel coronavirus massacre

By: Wang Yuewen & John Broach (Translator)

If I still live on
I will cherish my loved ones better
I won’t neglect the ones I do not love
I won’t raise pets
because I should not dictate another life
I will have more deference
but I won’t burn incenses to worship gods

If I still live on
there will be fewer items on my dining table
My mouth will only eat plain rice
drink clean water
kiss the one I love
and speak only the truth
leaving the lies for the liars

If I still live on
I hope my brain churns over
returning to its humble beginning
I will only hear what enters my ears
I will only see what passes through my eyes
I will only speak what comes out of my mouth

I know, if I still live on,
It’s because I have a mask
I don’t want to think of masks as merely metaphors
Masks are masks
And at this moment
no expression is appropriate
I am thankful
for the farmers who grow cotton
for the workers who weave cloth and make masks
for the delivery men dropping off masks to our doors
and for those wearing PPE
who stand day and night in front of sickbeds
fighting against death itself

假如我还能活下去

写在新冠状病毒肆虐的寒夜

作者：王跃文

假如我还能活下去
我要加倍爱我所爱的人
我不会再敷衍我不爱的所有
我不饲养宠物
我没有权力主宰任何一个生命
我会有更多敬畏
却不对神焚香膜拜

假如我还能活下去
我的餐桌上会更简单
我的嘴只用来吃朴素的米饭
喝清洁的水
亲吻我的爱人
我的嘴只用来讲真实的话

假话留给讲假话的人
假如我还能活下去
我愿我的大脑如混沌初开

耳朵听到的就是听到的样子
眼睛看见的就是看见的样子
嘴巴说出的就是说出的样子
我知道, 假如我还能活下去
这是因为我有了口罩
我不想把口罩比拟成任何意象
口罩就是口罩
此时此刻
任何抒情都不恰当
我能想到的恩人
是种棉花的农民
织纱布、制口罩的工人
送口罩到家门口的快递小哥
是那些也正戴着口罩
穿着防护服
站在病床前不眠不休
与死神搏斗的人

February, I Wail through All the Ink

By: Lin Bai & Ping Zhu (Translator)

February, I wail through ink
I borrow the others’ ink
to wail more

I wail through black ink
I wail in my feverish dream

It is already spring
The giant disinfection truck still roars
Wuhan is burning in the black of disinfectant fog
February, I wail

I wail during the incessant snow
I wail when it stops
For the white lungs, for the white ghosts
with their broken ribs, roaming
on the soulless streets
February, I’ve drained every drop of the ink
to wail

Day fourteen, the curve is still ascending
For those scarlet numbers
hanging above the shelter hospitals in Wuhan
February, I wail

The crows fly over, I wail
They fly away, I wail
A murder of crows wait at the window
February, we wail

二月, 所有的墨水不够用来痛哭

作者：林白

二月, 墨水用来痛哭
借他人的墨水
用来痛哭。

黑色的墨水
用来痛哭
梦中的高烧
用来痛哭

立春已过
巨大的消毒车轰鸣
武汉, 燃起黑色的药雾
二月, 痛哭

大雪连日不停, 痛哭
雪停住了, 痛哭
空无一人的街道
白色的肺、白色的亡灵
连同被压断的胸肋骨
二月, 所有的墨水不够用来痛哭

十四天, 拐点未到
红色的数字
悬挂在方舱之上
二月, 用来痛哭

乌鸦飞过来, 痛哭
乌鸦飞过去, 痛哭
成群的乌鸦停在窗口
二月, 大放悲声。