Hanxin: Lover

　　Lover
　　　　　　　　by Hanxin (1968-)　　tr. Fan Jinghua

Under the wide-brimmed hat, the cool
White head of a thirsty sea
Is still growing new shoots of ache

I notice that the body has been slightly relocated
I hear the palms pressing on the table, the window and the sounds of wind
And those that can do nothing about their own leaving
Make noises of friction


　　情人
　　　　　寒馨（1968-）
圆边帽子下，渴的海
冷却的白头
还在生长疼的新芽

我发觉身体被微微移动
听见手掌按压桌子、窗和风声
那些不由自主要离开的事物
发出的摩擦声

My Commentary:
　　No thumbtack can pin the shadow of a cloud down to a wall. Hanxin feels the most gossamer, ephemeral and ethereal, and her expression purposefully avoids pinning it down. She gives it a form, to make it palpable and concrete, and yet it is only for the vision, as she does not allow it to be loaded with anything heavy and external.
　　In this poem, we can safely assume a scene, in which the speaker is standing by sea or watching a person who is standing there. The wide-hammed hat is both a shelter and disguise, and in the eyes under it flows a sea of thirsty water. In this language, a woman’s passion is compared with the autumn water in the eyes, and now it is a thirsty sea, salty and bitter. The white head is both the breaker and a metaphor for old age, hence the metaphor for something lasting. Coolness also takes on double references, both the distance and the cool-headedness. Love can be passionate burning, and it can be rationally long-lasting. Here, it washes toward the shore, repeatedly, and yet this love, apparently constant, is unavailable.
　　Then, the speaker turns to herself. First, she feels her body response to the distant water, and then, she hears something between herself and the things she can lay hands on. All seem to be leaving, and in their desperation, they do not leave smears or scratches, and they can only make noises by confliction, by rubbing the surface with their unsmoothness, and by resisting the relative motion. The noises are cries, heard or unheard.

译后赘言：
　　没有图钉可以将云的影子钉在墙上。寒馨能感到最短暂易逝的、最蛛丝飘忽的感觉，而她的表达也有意地避免将那种感受按实、固定。她给了它一个形式，令它可感可触，但这只是视觉上的，她并没有容许它装载外界的沉重。
　　我们可以这样假设这首诗中的场景。说话人站在海边或者看到有一个人站在海边。宽边帽既是遮挡又是伪装，那下面的眼睛我们见不到，但是我们知道它们看着海水，也就是一顷海水。汉语中，女人的情是比做眼中的盈盈秋水的，而这首诗中那是一片饥渴的咸涩的海。“白头”既是海浪的白沫也比喻老年，这是忠贞不渝，“冷却的白头”则既是头脑冷静，也是一种距离和心冷。爱，有激情热烈的燃烧，也有柔韧持久的冷静。在此，它一浪又一浪地冲涌海岸，看来坚决、不变，实则并不可得。
　　于是，说话人转向自身。首先，说话人感到了自己身体对于远方之水的回应，接着听到她自己伸手可触的日常也传来声音。同样的真切，但是都不可逮，都在离去。留下的，也就是一种离去的痕迹。不是什么污渍或者划痕，而只能是一些噪音。离去的，以不平的表面摩擦另一物体的表面，抵制着相对运动。摩擦出来的噪音，宛若哭喊，无论是被人听到的，还是没人听到的。