A Mang: If Someday My Memory Gets Better

　　If Someday My Memory Gets Better 

　　　　　　　　by [Taiwan] A Mang　　tr. Fan Jinghua


It gets so great that I don't need to see you
and since I don't want to anyway
we don't ever need to meet

Don't feel bad
for stockpiling supplies in my garage
It's enough
for however many years
to face each famine that suddenly strikes

My stockpile fears no darkness
won't grow mold and rot, nor sprout
(become poison)

it won't run out no matter how you eat it
and I'll never tire of eating

Some day my memory gets better than it already is
but I've already said my memory is poor
How many years has it been –
we've seen one another just once
were together only one day
(take a whole number, not a fraction)

You seemed to say something off color
Your memory is no better than mine

How about some day you remember better?

　　如果有一天我的记忆力变好了
　　　　　　　　[台湾]阿芒
好到我不必去看你

也不想

我们可以永远不相见
一点也不会感到遗憾

只用一天
我在仓库里囤积的粮食
已经足够
对付不管多少年间
每一次突然降临的饥荒

这些存粮不怕黑暗
不会受潮不腐烂也不发芽
（芽是有毒的）

怎么吃都吃不完
也不腻

如果有一天我的记忆力变好了

我说过我的记性很差
到目前为止，多少年了
我们只见过：一次
我们只在一起：一天
（四舍五入，取整数计算）

那时你好像也顺便提了一下
你的记性不会比我好

万一有一天你的记忆力变好了呢

Poet: A Mang, born in Hualien, Taiwan, lives in Taipei.
诗人：阿芒，生于台湾花莲，现居台北。