Saturday, October 4, 2008

Fan Jinghua: Old Acquaintance

  Old Acquaintance
So you must let loose your long hair, a big gardenia in hand
You must be stranger than the past
You must look like a stopover passenger
Looking to your left and right, absent-minded

So I walk up from behind, keeping eyes on you
And you already know when I am by your side
You have to notice me by then only and naturally must not recognize me
This one comes from the past, and a Confucian scholar too

So you must ask me where I come from
Then I can say I come from a town called Nevers
Where there is an old pavilioned bridge half buried on a once river

That town has three streets and seven alleys
Which are called as Lost Road and Blind Outlet, numbered
Passengers from the past and future call the pavilion Gardenia Posthouse
               Oct. 4, 2008

   故人
那么你必须将头发散落 手拿一朵栀子花
你必须比曾经还要陌生
必须像在此地中转的旅客那样走马观花
左顾右盼且心不在焉

于是我盯着你的后背很久 走上去
还没看到你的侧面 你就已经知道
但你必须是过了很久才知道 你当然也必须认不出我
忘了我来自古代 还是一个书生

所以你必须迷惑地问我从哪儿来
我告诉你那是一个小镇 叫做灞桥
有一座带亭子的砖头桥半埋在早已干涸的宽沟上

三条东西的街都叫迷途
七道南北的巷子都叫末路
古代和将来的人都将那亭子称为栀子花驿站
        2008年10月4日

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