Fan Jinghua: Hoop Rolling

　　Hoop Rolling
That was a time-honored game which I was
Skillfully artless as a child, and I could even
Fly a kite to hear the holed bottle gourd
Accompany our running on the ground

A boy followed an iron hoop at an arm’s distance
Linked by a stick with a hook

After the first push, the circle turned on
Along its points of tangency with the earth
And only very occasionally at a low speed did I feel
The vibrating friction between the hoop and the stick and hook

The years afterwards I’ve met with so many unsmoothnesses
That hoop-rolling ranked the highest felicity in my life

Now my recollection turns to a reflection
That the boy’s arm has written out an expression
Of force and speed between his body and the hoop
And that has nothing to do with the variables of the road

The most important is, the hoop has to be
Heavy enough to defy the ruggedness of the ground
And light enough to roll easily like a wind
　　　　　　　　　　　July 7, 2008


　　滚铁环

那童年的游戏　我曾玩得不露技巧　
甚至能一边放着风筝　
听挖了孔的葫芦从空中传来埙声
伴着我们在地上矮矮地跑

一个孩子手持一柄钩子跟着一条铁环
人与物彼此不即也不离

在最初的推动之后　铁圈沿着自己
与大地的切点　滚动　我只是
以钩柄和钩子偶尔从旁矫正
尤其在低速的时候

其后的岁月　太多生涩
反证了那是我一生做得最得心应手的事

现在　回味变成了反思
那孩童的手臂竟写出了身体与物体之间的公式
有关力道与速度
而与路面的变量没有关系

重要的是那铁环要有一定的重量
不至于有一点不平就跳得轻狂
　　　　　　　2008年7月8日