Fan Jinghua: Farting

　　　Farting
I come to and see things as they come my way,
And it is not anyone’s choice. I wanted to be a wind
Over grasses, agile, but at an adolescent age I was struck
By a fierce sudden cold front on the waist, so I limp a little.
I cannot look at myself from behind or at a distance;
I know it from the jiggle of my shadow. I can take it
With grace, if not pride, dragging along at any weather,
And believing that lameness may force me to see better.
There is a little problem, however, in rainy days
Or on dewy mornings, when my shoes tend to be wet,
And my way of walk will only aggravate it, making
Squeezing sounds, at best like frogs for pastoral ears.
Often than not, people pass by (they often do as they are faster)
And turn a glance at me, believing that I fart at their overtaking.
That is embarrassing, for I cannot prove with odorlessness,
And this is when I know silence is more shameful than farting.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Jan. 27, 2009

　　　放屁
我走来，随便看到什么，都只是因为它们出现
在我的路上而已，这并不能证明谁做了选择。
我本想做一阵风，吹过草，那该是多么轻捷，
却在青春期被冷峰击中了腰，所以我有点跛足。
虽然我并不能从自己的背后或远处看自己，
但我看到地上的影子一伸一缩地跳，知道我有点滑稽。
这没什么，我虽不会感到骄傲，但还能潇洒地接受，
在任何天气都拖着腿，向前走，甚至还令自己相信
跛行或许迫使我比别人看得更为细致。
当然，在阴雨天或者露水浓重的早晨，会有一点小问题：
我的鞋子往往会湿掉，而我的步态会令问题更加严重，
发出咕唧咕唧的声音。这在倾听田园的耳朵中可能是蛙鸣，
但大多数时候，人们超过我（他们走得自然比我快许多），
回头瞥我一眼，以为我出于妒忌，所以不满地放屁。
这令我难堪，而我却不能用无味来证明自己，
这时候我才明白，沉默比放屁还要令我羞愧。
　　　　　　　　　　2009年1月27日