Calm Yourself Like a Fool

　　Calm Yourself Like a Fool

                                              Fan Jinghua

When you are of a certain age, which may be defined

By your DI, there will not be many keys you can hope to grip

And turn, and a potential one may be to keep believing in something,

Despite the diminishing faith you force yourself to keep for life,

Specifically for human decency and moral censorship.

After a certain point, you take faithlessness as quite normal,

Like the gradual but definite irrevocable loss of youthful impulses.

Man’s world is easily turned on, as long as a fake sun is hung

At the 2pm position, and seven days later, a lot of spring onions,

Juicy and hollow, will be waiting feverishly for beheading.

The disturbing problem is the dew-insoluble clods in the dirt

Whose deep-felt fear of the comeback of locusts does come back.

Now, you can curse with an f-word for three times, and when this is

Done, of course, you’ll calm yourself like a fool: This is our doom.

                                             August 24-25, 2018

　

　　像傻瓜一样安慰自己

                                             得一忘二 

到了一定的年纪（这年纪可以按可支配收入

界定），你能指望捏住并能转动的钥匙不会太多，

其中一把可能是继续相信一样什么，

虽说你强迫自己留给人生的信念已不剩什么，

尤其不再相信人的体面和道德的审查。

过了一个点，你会把无信视为正常的事，

就好像年轻的冲动会逐渐丧失，肯定且不可逆转。

人的世界很容易被鼓动，只需要

在下午两点钟的位置挂一颗假太阳，

七天后就会有一茬绿油油的青葱，多汁而中空，

迫不及待地等着被割头。令人不安的问题是，

露水化不开的泥块担心蝗虫卷土重来，而这真的来了。

现在，你可以骂三声脏话，骂完了之后，

你当然就要像傻瓜一样安慰自己：这是一种必然。

　　　　　　　2018年8月25日