Li Yiliang: Age

　　Age
　　　(To “Little Fish”)
　　　　　　　　　by Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
It is at this age
Poets write you one poem after another
And you do not know sneer yet

The day you’ve learn how to sneer
You will be old
Be you twenty or sixty
　　　　　　Nov. 17, 2009


　　年龄
　　　——给小小鱼
　　　　　　　　　李以亮　

是这样的年龄
诗人们纷纷给你献诗
而你还不会耻笑

等到学会耻笑的时候
小小鱼，你就老了
无论二十岁还是六十岁
　　　　2009/11/17

　　Let’s suppose this “Little Fish” is the speaker’s teenage daughter, at an age when so called poets would write poems to please her and please themselves. Let’s suppose that “Little Fish” is someone even poets may degrade themselves by pleasing her and degrading poetry. Does or will “Little Fish” learn that poetry is not to please one person, especially not by so many poets who write one poem after another for one person even that person is herself. Yes, when she learns this, she will be too wise to be fooled by that kind of “sneerable” poets. How about the poet who write this poem for “Little Fish”? I love reading this poet, Li Yiliang, from the central provincial capital Wuhan on the mid-stream of the Yangtze River.

Li Yiliang: A Dream of Father

　　A Dream of Father
　　　　　　　　　　Li Yiliang (1966-)　　tr. Fan Jinghua
I heard clearly Father was calling me.
A sudden surprise and terror.
I opened the door at the call, and I woke up
— Another dream.

How long has he left?
I have not thought of him, or rather,
As a matter of fact, I do not miss him.
He is very old now, a lonely man.

Has he thought of me? He chooses
A day like this, coming along a dream—
This would be easier. Pity
We did not meet, tonight

After the dream was broken, by the end
Of all the troubled years, I asked myself—
What strained turn of fate made me feel
That the I he called had left me and gone away;

Also made me fear of seeing
The honest and saddening look in his eyes.
All my younger inspirations that set me off,
All my almighty ambitions—

To make Father’s face gleam with pride of me,
For my leading a life unlike his.
I shattered his expectation.
I cannot return to the beginning days.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　1993

　　梦见父亲
　　　　　　　　　　李以亮
我听得真切：父亲叫我。
刹那间惊奇又恐惧。
我应声开门，于是我醒来。
——又一个梦。

离开父亲已经多久？
我不想他，或者说，
实际上，我并没有想他。
他已经很老，是个孤独的人。

是父亲想起了我？他选择
这个日子，从梦中走来——
这就容易得多。然而
我们没有见面，今夜

在梦醒之后，在所有
烦恼岁月的末端，我自问——
是什么命运的乖张使我感到
他所呼唤的我已离我远去；

又使我这么害怕见到
他那诚实、伤心的眼神。
我全部赖以出发的初衷啊，
我所有不可一世的雄心——

是让父亲以我感到满面荣光，
有别于他的一生。
我让他伤心。
我回不到开始的日子。
　　　　　　　　1993

Li Yiliang was born in 1966, a few months later than me, and we are of the same age. What his dream about Father (to meet Father's expectation) is perhaps both an ideal and a burden for the people at that time. The original title of the poem should be literally translated as "(I have) Dreamt of Father."

Li Yiliang: A Letter

A Poem by Li Yiliang
李以亮诗一首

　　A Letter
　　　　　　　　　　by Li Yiliang　tr. Fan Jinghua
　　　Yueyang Tower soaring high over Cloud-Dream Lake
　　　Black-Dragon River running under the distant frosty sky

Barely had I started than I felt it hard to finish this letter.
What should I say to you?
In private, I had even wished for more people to read
--But this is obviously impossible.
A letter can only say part of what can be said, like
The attempt to turn a scrambled Rubik’s cube of magic
To get one face of solid color.

This is already an indication of the order in me, that is,
There is no order. I am in pursuit,
My vision being worn down, by day and by night.
The result? It appears more like a child playing
Stone skipping, being fascinated by the transient arches over the water,
And learning to accept
The sinking of heart with the piece of stone.

For many years, I’ve been contesting against saints and sages and trying
To reconcile with evil persons. I’ve taken on the eccentricities of a genius,
But nowadays there are only self-assumed geniuses,
And they are everywhere, so I am no longer one.
For many times, I have been haunted by a dream that I wake up
In the morning only find that a scorpion is waiting
For my foot in each of my shoes under the bed.

Where is the niche of my Buddha? Whose icon do I pray to?
I need to have joy, and I need to be capable of love. Who’d like
To always write poems that present a long blank face?
I wish so much to praise the present, this sunlight on the windowsill,
As it reminds me of the south, not long ago,
The tropical, the alcohol like seawater,
The long long journey.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　Nov. 30, 2008

　　　一封信
　　　　　　　　　李以亮 (1966-)
　　　　　　黄鹤楼高云梦泽
　　　　　　黑龙江远雪霜天
一封信还没有开头，我已感到它难以结束。
我要向你说些什么？
私下里，我甚至希求着更多的人，
——但这显然不可能。
一封信只是把能说的部分说出一部分，像
把打乱的魔方旋转着
尽可能复原。

这已经暗示了我内心的秩序，也就是
没有秩序。我寻求着，
日夜熬损着我的视力，
结果更像一个儿童用石子在水面
削着水漂，陶醉于短暂而美妙的弧线，
接着让自己的心
和石子一块沉下去。

多少年了，我与圣贤对抗，
又试图与恶人和解。我染上了天才的怪癖，
——但如今，只有自以为是的天才，
他们无处不在，我不是。
多少次，我重复着一个噩梦，梦见早上
醒来，一只蝎子
在床底的鞋子里等着我。

我的佛龛在哪儿？我挂谁的圣画像？
我要有快乐，我要有爱的能力，——谁愿意
总写板着面孔的诗？
我多想赞美此刻，照耀在窗台上的阳光，
它让我回忆起不久前的南方，
热带，海水一样的酒，
漫长的旅途。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　2008.11.30.

Li Yiliang: Memory; Saturday Morning; By the Window

Three Poems by Li Yiliang 李以亮诗三首

　　Li Yiliang was awarded Yulong Poetry Prize 2007 for he “reveals through his restraint lyrical narrative the tragic of our everyday life, and establishes a discreet and vigilant sense of poetic ethics so that his poetry call our attention to the spiritual destitution and the indestructible in life… and also for his translation of Polish poetry which implants into Chinese poetry writing a character and temperament unique to Eastern European nations.”

　在2007年度的“宇龙诗歌奖”评委会所宣布的授奖辞中，李以亮“以抒情而克制的叙事揭示了我们日常生活的悲剧性，并确立起一种审慎而警觉的诗性伦理态度，从而唤醒我们对生命中精神缺失和不可摧毁之物的关注。李以亮还以对波兰诗歌持久而出色的翻译，为汉语诗歌的写作注入了一种东欧民族特有的精神气质，让我们领略到在坚硬干燥的物质世界中镌刻真理的勇气和耐力”。

　　回忆
　　　　　　　李以亮 (1966-)
在湖边散步，凉风拂面
远处有人唱歌
车灯射过来射过去

三米之外有情侣静静拥吻
我们则相反
惊动了湖里的鱼群

我说，你的衣服底下
有奇迹
你也是——
这是你后来说的
　　　　　2008.10.14.

　　Memory
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
Walking by the lake, enjoying the cool breeze on the face
Overhearing someone singing in the near distance
With headlights sweeping back and forth

Three meters away, lovers are necking
But our doing nothing
Startles the drift of fish

I said there were miracles
Under your clothes
You did too—
But you told me later
　　　　　　　Oct. 14, 2008


　　星期六早晨
　　　　　　　李以亮 (1966-)
许多日子里的一日。许多人中的一人。
许多，其实是有限。和风依然是奢侈。
电视，新闻报纸，为人类放哨的记者
带来刷新一过的消息。复活是死人的事，
活人很难。我愿意在音乐里均匀呼吸。
我愿意牵着女儿的手，能走多远就走多远。
　　　　　　　　2008.5.24

　　Saturday Morning
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
One day among many days. One man among many men.
Many actually means countable by digits. Breeze is still a luxury.
TV, newspapers, journalists who stand guard for the human race
Bring refreshed news to be refreshed. Resurrection is for the dead,
Near impossible for the living. I’d like to breathe smoothly in music.
I’d like to hold my daughter’s hand, and walk as far as I can.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　May 24, 2008


　　　　窗前
　　　　　　　李以亮
早晨我站在窗前看雪，正在融化的雪。
我想到你，想到二十年了仿佛我是锈在这里，
一团悲哀涌起—— “是的，你已经认输。”

而我并不甘于这样的指责。
我并不相信，——命运。
我只是感到，一节大拇指，顶住了我的咽喉。
　　　　　　　　　　　　　2008.2.7.

　　By the Window
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
Early morning I stood by the window, watching the snow that was melting.
I thought of you… as if for twenty years I’ve been nailed here, rusting.
A fog of sadness rises—“Yes, you have admitted failure.”

And yet I’ve not brought myself to accept this reproof.
I do not believe, in Fate.
I have only felt a knuckle of thumb goring me by the throat.
　　　　　　　　　　　　　Feb. 7, 2008

Li Yiliang: Listening to Xiaoqi Reading his Poems

　　听诗人晓棋朗诵
　　　　　（赠晓棋之一）
　　　　　　　李以亮 (1966-)
那时候我多希望我就是你
——微醺
仿佛每个在座的听众都是知音
仿佛每个洗耳恭听的女士都是恋人

那时候我多希望我就是那首诗的作者
不著名但已有了足够的理由飞扬与自雄

请允许我模仿你的样子清嗓停顿高声宣布开始朗诵
请理解诗人在朗诵的中途因酒力失忆并坚决地从头开始

仿佛另起一行

那时候我多希望我就是全场唯一的评委
亮出全场唯一的最高分

“诗人们将重要性归之于奖项和成功”*
那时候，我相信他们的误解比我们还深
　　　　　　
原注*引自扎加耶夫斯基的诗《中国诗》。
　　　　　　　　　　2008.11.20.

　　Listening to Xiaoqi Reading his Poems
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
At that moment how I wish I were you
--A little intoxicated
As if every listener there knows the tone of your chord
As if every lady sits with all ears in your heart

At that moment how I wish I were the author of the poem
Not known to all but having enough reasons to fly and self-accolade

Please allow me to copy the way you clear the throat, pause, and
Announce in an unflinching voice that you are about to read
Please forgive the poet who insists on starting over from the first line
When his wine-drowned memory does not follow up

The next line seems to be a new start

At that moment how I wish I were the only judge
Who gives the one and only highest score

"Poets attribute importance to prizes and successes"
At that moment I believe their misreading is deeper than ours

Author’s Note: The quote is from Zagajewski’s poem “Chinese Poem.”
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Nov. 20, 2008

Li Yiliang: More; On A Journey

Two Poems by Li Yiliang 李以亮诗二首

　　　更多的
　　　　　　　李以亮 (1966-)
整晚整晚的音乐，更多的沉默。
你的情欲，意志，年龄的吃水线，
你虚构和摧毁的一切。

更多的生死，更多的离别。
你知道你在寻找什么，它不存在。
　　　　　　2008.12.26.

　　More
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
Music running night over night, more silence.
Your lust, your will, waterline of age,
All that you’ve imagined and destroyed.

More lives and deaths, more farewells.
You know what you are looking for, and it does not exist.
　　　　　　　Dec. 26, 2008

　　　在途中
夜色褪尽，16号车厢空空荡荡
仿佛水落石出，在我对面
出现了一个穿黄色绒衣的姑娘，沉默，爱着她的口香糖

如果愿意，我们应该可以说点什么
如果时光倒流，我会选择主动

我总是对女性
更容易产生美好的幻想，我迷恋她们的形容、服饰
我总是因为某个女性，记住一个城市的名字

我赞美造物主为我们的旅途安排了不可多得的明亮

但这个早晨我心无旁骛
这个早晨注定没有故事也没有回忆
我们默默到达、下车，从相遇到分手，从陌生到陌生
　　　　　　　　　　　　　2008.11.20.


　　　On a Journey
　　　　　　　　　By Li Yiliang　　tr. Fan Jinghua
Color of night has washed away and carriage 16 is left empty.
As if a boulder emerges at water-ebb, a girl in yellow eider jacket,
Silent, devoted to her chewing gum, appears in front of my eyes.

If in willing mood, we should have talked a little;
I would choose to initiate a talk, if time turned back.

I’m always easily inspired to project on women
Magnificent fantasies, and enchanted with their demeanor and apparel;
Most often, I remember the name of a town because of a woman.

I thank the Creator for the hard-to-come-by brightness
Prearranged on our journey.

But this morning I have nothing to put my heart on,
This morning is doomed, and there is no story, then no memory.
We arrive and get off, in mutual silence, from confluence to separation,
Strangers we were and strangers we remain.
　　　　　　　　　　　　Nov. 20, 2008

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　李以亮 Li Yiliang (1966-)

About the poet:
　　LI Yiliang (1966-) was born in the countryside of Hubei Province, and grew up with discrimination due to his birth. In 1984, he was enrolled Yichang Teacher’s College and majored in English, henceforth became an English teacher upon graduation. In 2001 he switched to Wuhan Telecommunication Bureau. He began writing poems early in high school through college, but stopped for a few years and resume writing after the millennium. He is living in Wuhan and is one of the editors of Chinese Poetry (Quarterly). He was awarded Yulong Poetry Prize 2007.

　　李以亮，1966年7月出生于湖北应城农村，因家庭出身问题，成长过程中一直颇受歧视。1984年考入宜昌师范专科学校英语专业，1987年毕业分配至湖北省邮电学校任英语教师，2001年改行至武汉市电信局工作至今。高中时期开始学习诗歌写作。大学期间与大学同学结过诗社办过刊物，1986年后开始发表诗作。1998年尝试过翻译和文学随笔、论文写作。2004年春与张执浩、余笑忠等诗人创办平行文学网，还是《汉诗》季刊的编辑。译著有《波兰现代诗歌选》（自费印刷）。