Gosh-darn Earth, Always Spinning and Whatnot

Haven't posted in too long! Been busy with many fun things - including starting to study the Taiwanese dialect. Superawesomefun. Anyway, here's a poem from Shen Zhifang, currently a professor in the Chinese department at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan. Kind of a light-hearted poem, neat idea, bumped into it today and figured I'd give it a go. I'm not head-over-heels for this one, but I'm definitely interested in checking out more of his stuff. 不敢入睡的原因 對，一切都是因為 地球自轉的關係 先是我好疲倦的躺在床上，床好疲倦的躺在 地球上，我們一起準備入睡。因為地球自轉 的關係，月光開始一寸一寸把我推醒 推我向地球那頭，一寸一寸，滑落 地球就翻過來睡在床上，床就翻過來睡在我 敏感單薄的背上，壓得脊椎與聲帶咯咯作響 ……我不敢吵醒別人 我不敢入睡。我怕啊我怕一不小心睡著了 地球和床和我將立刻向無底的宇宙墜落 －－那，那所有的連續劇怎麼辦？ 等待繼續曝光的各種內幕怎麼辦？ 已經高價買進的大筆股票怎麼辦怎麼辦？ 我不敢入睡。為了所有人美麗的明天 趴在床上奮力支撐地球的重量，直到 唉天亮 一切絕對是 該死的,地球自轉的關係 -沈志方 Why I Won't Sleep Yes, it’s all because of the earth’s turning. First I, exhausted, lay atop the bed – the bed, exhausted, lays atop the earth, and together we prepare for sleep. Because of the earth’s turning, the moonlight starts to inch by inch shake me awake, pushing me towards the earth, inch by inch, slipping, until the earth turns to sleep atop the bed, the bed turns to sleep atop my frail, sensitive back, pressing out creaking cracks from my spine and throat …but I musn’t wake the others. I will not sleep. I fear, ah, I fear if I fall asleep, carelessly, earth and bed and I will fall out into that bottomless universe --and, and then what would become of the soap operas? What of all the news stories waiting to break? What of all the high-priced stocks, yet unsold? I will not sleep. For everyone’s beautiful tomorrow, I’ll press against my bed and prop up the weight of this earth, until (oh!) daybreak. It’s definitely all because of the earth’s goddamned turning. -Shen Zhifang, t. Rob Voigt

One quick... poem

We talked today in poetry class about Xu Zhimo (徐志摩, 1899-1931), an early mainland vernacular-Chinese poet. He studied in the US and England, most importantly at Cambridge about which he wrote his most famous poem, "Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again," which is already translated on the above-linked wikipedia page. That poem has been covered in song form by many, including S.H.E.. I took a stab at translating a bunch of the ones we went over in class, but only one seemed to lend itself to translation reasonably enough to put up.

Important to note: the "western sky," or here "western horizon" references the Pure Land Buddhism concept of the "Western Land of Bliss," which wikipedia describes as "a region offering respite from karmic transmigration." Paradise, basically. Anywho, the poem:

闊的海 闊的海空的天我不需要， 我也不想放一隻巨大的紙鷂 上天去捉弄四面八方的風﹔ 我衹要一分鐘 我衹要一點光 我衹要一條縫，－－ 象一個小孩子爬伏 在一間暗屋的窗前 望著西天邊不死的一條 縫，一點 光，一分 鐘。 The Vast Ocean I don't need the vast ocean, the open skies, nor do I want to send up a huge paper kite into the sky to tease the four winds; I just need one quick minute I just need one point of light I just need one thin seam, -- Like a small child climbing up the window in a dark room to gaze upon the undying western horizon's one thin seam, one point of light, one quick minute.

-Xu Zhimo, t. Rob Voigt