Poems by Yan An
Translated from the Chinese by Chen Du and Xisheng Chen
How Did Four Dung Beetles Easily Take Away Earth
To begin with——four dung beetles from a cartoon story
Hollowed out Earth as if emptying a ball of donkey dung
And then under the cover of a dead night with everything quiet
Strained every muscle to go to all the fuss
Of attempting to furtively transport it to another place
Then there came a strange plague
Like an imaginary foe with indiscernible whereabouts
The four dung beetles were killed first——with legs in the air
It was a bizarre wind——not blustering but permeating
Wherever it passed by
Leas withered——forests spontaneously combusted
Rivers dried up——seas and their cerulean blue
Impetuously sank
As if being loaded into a filter funnel
Sinking together with the ocean were
Antarctic and Arctic ice crusts and snow-capped summits
They were dwindling——subsiding
Then tirelessly taken to an infinite altitude by thick fogs
To paint the firmament’s azure blue into grayish blue
America——China——and Russia
Europe——Asia——and Africa
Caucasians——Asians——and Africans
All of these enemies once truer than the truth——nowadays
Are hiding under their own pergolas like imaginary foes
Without hurting each other——or knowing
Each other’s whereabouts
四只屎壳郎怎样轻易地带走了地球
首先——是来自卡通故事中的四只屎壳郎
它们像掏空一只驴粪蛋一样掏空了地球
并乘着夜深人静
使出了吃奶的劲头折腾着
试图把它秘密运往别处
接着是一场奇怪的瘟疫袭来
它就像假想敌一样难觅行踪
四只屎壳郎被率先杀死——一只只四脚朝天
那是一种奇怪的风——它不吹拂而是弥漫
它所经之地
草地在枯萎——森林在自燃
河流在干涸——海域和它的蔚蓝
像装在漏斗里
迅疾地下沉
与大海一齐下沉的还有
南极和北极的冰层与雪峰
它们在涣散——塌陷
被浓雾无限地带向无限的高处
将天空的湛蓝涂成灰蓝
美国——中国——和俄罗斯
欧洲——亚洲——和非洲
白种人——黄种人——和黑种人
这些曾经比真实更真实的敌人——如今就像假想敌一样
藏在各自的凉棚里
不再互相伤害——也不知道
彼此的下落
Yatter-Natter About Poetry and Biology
Gongdu——Little Heng——a few other people and I
Are at the Green Island Café outside the West Straight Gate
Some are sipping tea——some are drinking coffee
Others are only too bored to suggest
We talk about issues other than poetry
Yet having to be interesting
Gongdu says——he is researching
The question that poetry is related to biology
As it’s important to examine
Whether or not poetry is still alive
And how long it can indeed live
Having just returned from a trip to North Korea
Little Heng says night there is so quiet
With a very clean city——not only people
But also lights go to slumberland early
He has also mentioned many other places——Libya
Syria——Pakistan——Cuba
And the recent situation of some people——such as
Bin Laden with no body found
(Compared to Gaddafi——how dignified it is)
Then I suddenly recall something
Instantly enlightened after touching my occipital area
And say I remember
The Bible may be missing one sentence—
Only by growing poetry and roses in the devil’s belly
Can it be the warmest——safest
一次有关诗歌和生物学的神聊海侃
我和公度——小恒——还有另外几个人
在西直门外的绿岛咖啡店
有人在喝茶——有人在喝咖啡——有人闷得慌
建议大家一齐说说跟诗歌无关但必须有趣的问题
公度说——他正在研究
诗歌和生物学有关的问题
这是检验诗歌是否还活着
甚至到底能活多久的重要问题
小恒刚从朝鲜旅游回来
他说那里的夜晚那个安静啊
城市非常干净——不光是人
连灯光也是早早就睡了
还说了很多地方——利比亚
叙利亚——巴基斯坦——古巴
或者一些什么人的近况——譬如
死不见尸的本·拉登
（比起卡扎菲，这多体面呀）
再后来我突然想起了什么
摸摸后脑勺才恍然大悟
我说我想起——《圣经》上可能少了一句话—
只有在恶魔的肚子里种上诗歌和玫瑰
才最温暖——最安全
Yan An is a most famous poet in contemporary China, author of fourteen poetry books including his most famous poetry book, Rock Arrangement, which has won him The Sixth Lu Xun Literary Prize, one of China’s top four literary prizes. The poems published here are from Rock Arrangement, which was published by Shaanxi Publishing & Media Group (Taibai Literary Press) in 2013.
Chen Du has a Master’s Degree in Biophysics from Roswell Park Cancer Institute, SUNY at Buffalo and another from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Yan An’s poetry book, A Naturalist’s Manor, translated by her and Xisheng Chen was published by Chax Press. She is also the author of the book Successful Personal Statements. Find her at of_sea@hotmail.com.
Xisheng Chen, a Chinese American, is an ESL grammarian, lexicologist, linguist, translator and educator. His working history includes: Adjunct Professor at the Departments of English and Social Sciences of Trine University (formerly Tri-State University), Angola, Indiana. As a translator for over three decades, he has published many translations in various fields in newspapers and journals in China and abroad.