Yu Xiang: Therefore You Love Me

　　　　　Therefore You Love Me
　　　　　　　　　　　(For You)
　　　　　　　　　　　　　by YU Xiang　tr. Fan Jinghua
　　Midnight. You are asleep, but I am in front of the PC monitor and type out these words.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　For the whole year, you saw snowflakes sneak through the window while the fireplace was accumulating coldness.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　You walked through the garden of my childhood, and even when bare-footed you could hear ants crying out. There was not a stir of wind.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　Perhaps you write, and you'd best write poetic fictions and have no faith in governance or religions or the such. You'd rather not name anything, and you refuse to believe in love.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　One day, you thought of your childhood in Horse-Raising Island, and the waves washed the body of your uncle and the wreck of a fishing boat toward the cliff, repeatedly. The sound would haunt your dreams in the form of knocks on your door, but at that time you and your playmates were engaged with a game called “capturing the greasy.”
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　Dreams made your body fluid run wide and your mind free, while the clock remained mute, remaining the same as before you fell asleep.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　You watched Trainspotting over and over, and you became addicted to drugs, and chairmanship, as they were equally despotic.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　At night, you sipped tea in sorrow, and watched the powdered tea-leaves with S. You did not turn on the lamp.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　You walked below streetlamps, and you walked in the sunlight; you didn't see your own shadow.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　We used to bump into each other, as we lived very close, but the days when we were unacquainted were longer than a snake.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　Upon turning thirty, you no longer viewed the happenings in the past as stars in the night sky. Instead, they had every reason to traverse any field the way crabs cross Black-Sand Beaches, and old love drew out your broken heart. Mom said you should get married.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　You should get married. Aha! You drew lots to make the decision to fall in love.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　My love rests with you.
　　Therefore, you love me.

　　Your walk is feebly slow, because you are old. Therefore you love me.

　　And I say: on account of all this, come to me.

　　from Yang Siping ed. Current Chinese Poetry tr. Denis Mair et al
　　　　　　Shanghai: Shanghai Literary and Arts Press, 2008.
选自 杨四平 主编《中国当代诗歌》梅丹理 等翻译(上海文艺版 2008)



　　　　所以你爱我
　　　　　　　　(for you )
　　　　　　　　　　　　　宇向

　　深夜12点，你已睡去，而我还在电脑前，敲下这些字句。
　　所以你爱我。

　　一整年，你看到雪穿过窗缝，炉火也积聚着冷。
　　所以你爱我。

　　你步行穿过我少年的花园，即便赤脚，也能听到蚂蚁的尖叫。而周围没有一丝风。
　　所以你爱我。

　　也许你写作，最好写诗一样的小说，不相信宗教，不相信政府……不去具体命名任何事物。不相信爱情。
　　所以你爱我。

　　一天，你想起儿时在养马岛，海潮将叔父的尸体和一条渔船的残骸一遍一遍冲向海崖，后来，那声响经常在你噩梦中充当一种敲门的方式，而当时，你正在和小伙伴们玩一种叫做“拔油油”的游戏。
　　所以你爱我。

　　梦境使体液宽广、思想得以自由，惟有时钟同入睡前一样，沉默不语。
　　所以你爱我。

　　你不停地看《猜火车》，迷上了毒品和主席。他们同样霸权。
　　所以你爱我。

　　夜晚，你在伤心中饮茶，并和S一起观察了一会儿茶叶末子，当时没有点灯。
　　所以你爱我。

　　你在某处街灯下行走，白天在阳光下行走，都没有见到自己的影子。
　　所以你爱我。

　　我们曾经面对面，住得很近，不相识的日子却蛇一般漫长。
　　所以你爱我。

　　30岁以后，你看到往事已不再是夜空中的星星，它们有理由像螃蟹一样横行于黑沙滩，就掏出被旧恋情伤害的心。妈妈说，该成亲了。
　　所以你爱我。

　　该成亲了。呵呵，你以抓阄的方式爱上了我。
　　所以你爱我。

　　我的爱取决于你。
　　所以你爱我。

　　你走路很慢，因为你老了，所以你爱我。

　　我说：那么，来吧。


About the poet:
　　YU Xiang is one of the key figures among the Post-70s poets, currently living in Jinan, Shandong Province. After years of engagement with contemporary art and music, she became devoted to writing around 2000. Her awards include the 11th Rou Gang Poetry Prize (2002), top ten women poets in China (2004) and the First Yu Long Poetry Prize (2006).
　　宇向，诗人、作家。"70后"重要诗人。现居山东济南。参与中国当代艺术、地下音乐、先锋诗歌等活动多年之后，2000年左右开始写作，2002年获"柔刚诗歌奖"；2004年被评为中国当代"最受读者喜爱的10位女诗人"之一；2006年获首届"宇龙诗歌奖"。