Translated by Jennifer Feeley
Abstract
These four new poems by Xi Xi, written in late 2018 and early 2019, demonstrate the poet’s fondness for delighting in the mundane. With a sensitive and lighthearted touch, Xi Xi explores the quotidian in unexpected ways, finding whimsy in running errands at the post office, beauty in washing dishes in an alley, humor in a mischievous cat’s destructive behavior, and intrigue in the self-service laundromats that have sprung up around Hong Kong.
Post Office
no one wants to buy stamps
but the stamps haven’t done anything wrong
no one comes to pick up packages
but the packages haven’t done anything wrong
no one feels like sending Christmas cards
but the Christmas cards haven’t done anything wrong
I can’t receive my friend’s letters
but my friend hasn’t done anything wrong
my friend can’t receive letters written by my right hand
but my left hand hasn’t done anything wrong
I come to the post office to pay my water bill
I haven’t come to the wrong place
but the water bill hasn’t done anything wrong
郵政局
沒有人要買郵票
可不是郵票的錯
沒有人來取郵包
可不是郵包的錯
沒有人想寄聖誕卡
可不是聖誕卡的錯
收不到朋友的來信
可不是朋友的錯
朋友收不到我右手寫的信
可不是我左手的錯
我到郵局來繳水費
我沒有去錯
可不是水費的錯
Washing Dishes
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