The common folk grow more like authorities,
While authorities turn more like common folk.
Yu Cong, born in Guannan, Jiangsu Province in 1972, is the author of poetry collections Poetry Workbook, Figurative Flowers and Stones in the Well, as well as an essay collection Notes of Suspicion. He currently lives in Shenzhen.
余丛，1972年生，江苏灌南人。著有诗集《诗歌练习册》《被比喻的花朵》《井中石》，随笔集《疑心录》。现居深圳。
Translated by Ma Yongbo
Ukiyo-e
The common folk grow more like authorities,
While authorities turn more like common folk.
The former cares for facades and fine adornment,
Posing with solemn, pretentious airs.
The latter resorts to tantrums and petty tricks,
Mastered in every craft of haggling unreasonably.
浮世绘
民间越来越像官方，
官方越来越像民间。
前者，门面，装扮，
也人模狗样的。
后者，耍泼，赖皮，
都一套一套的。
***
Cur
All our lives
Bereft of dignity
Like tamed hounds
Trained to curry favor with masters
Those begging scraps and those wallowing in filth
Are one and the same
Only one was born a dog
Yet evolved to wear a human skin
We bow down obediently
Serve slavishly
And submit to every order
See how we wag our tails and fawn
The cur dons a top hat
Speaks polished human words
Only when it sinks its teeth into flesh
Its true vicious nature lays bare
狗东西
我们的一生
没有教养
像一条驯化的狗
学会讨好主人
吃食的与吃屎的
没有区别
只是它一开始是狗
后来进化成人
我们顺从
效命
听受使唤
瞧，摇头摆尾的样子
狗东西戴上礼帽
说着人话
只有咬人的时候
原形毕露
***
The Green Train
The green train has traveled far,
Its slowness
Keeping me from coming to a halt.
It may roll on endlessly,
Passing every station I am bound to stop at,
Meeting all kinds of you along the way.
My checked luggage
Has arrived ahead of time,
Yet the green train lingers on the track.
It is the scenery itself.
I have ridden for ages,
Still unsure where my destination lies.
绿皮火车
绿皮火车走了很远
只是它的慢
让我还没有停下来
它可以继续行驶
路过我必经的每一个站
遇见形形式式的你们
我托运的行李
已提前到达
绿皮火车却还在路上
它就是沿途的风景
我坐了很久
还没有想好终点
____________________
Read: Night Exchanged Words with Spring Dreams
