2010年11月28日星期日

Luo Yi's Poems


The Second Dream
I dreamed I was at a meeting
behind the podium somebody was babbling on
about transcendentalism

I was sitting in the audience. Secretly
I started practising floating by holding
my body a millimetre above the chair

I was bored and the person went on talking. Secretly
I started practising weight-bearing floating by holding
my sitting posture with the chair a millimetre off the floor

I was still bored and the person was still talking
So I flew out of the window
It was already dark outside
I could do nothing else: that's how the kind of meeting it was like


Nut Tarō
One day
I picked up a nut by the river
I peeled off its shell and came out Time
I caressed and smoothed its folded skin and taught it how to walk

God be my witness
It has been 13.7 billion years since the Big Bang
(I got this from Wikipedia)
I threw away the nutshell long ago


Pok Gai
Yesterday I salvaged an old cupboard from the bottom of the lake
I lost all my strength but kept walking
Until, dizzy, I fell flat on the ground
(in a Cantonese movie they called this Pok Gai -- crushed onto the street) 
Having no strength to even crawl
I saw that the other people who also had Pok Gai
They were watching me
Grass grew out of their bodies
Then snow covered them
I couldn’t help but be happy
I wouldn’t be resentful anymore
because now I was the same as them


City
A huge cake
grows puffy in the oven
It thickens
but lacks dimensions


Long Distance Love
A and B are two dots on a plane
Most of the time
We tend to measure the distance between them
The rest of the time
We tend to personify A and B
(into a man and woman for example)
And roll up the paper so they can meet


How to Wake Up the Princess
Draw a silver line from the origin--
extend it but don’t bend it, so both ends of the line
meet at infinity. Then tie a knot.
At that moment the spell-bound princess
will awaken in the castle
She will remove the silver line from her hair,
and yawn and stretch. Then she will get onto
an ox with a silver back and leave.
Her whereabouts will never be known. 


The Piano Player
A young man is playing a piano
One note seems to be jumping out
Another keeps hiding itself
The notes are not ready
to be tamed
by this brown-haired young man



The original poems are in Chinese, translated into English by me, edited by Robert Berold.

Here is Luo Yi's Blog: wreninhernest

秋之叶

Autumn Leaves(秋之叶)这首歌由法国歌手/演员Yves Montand (伊夫·蒙当)唱过,Edith Piaf唱过,也由Nat King Cole唱过。

最近在听一张爵士乐老专辑,Someting Else(1958),头一首就是Autumn Leaves,当然是器乐版的。虽然这张专辑被视为Hard Bop/Bebop的经典之作,不过“秋之叶”这首曲子除了结构,Bop的风格没有专辑其它曲子强烈,倒是更接近于cool jazz。

曲子开始由钢琴、低音提琴、小号和架子鼓渲染出一股萧瑟的气氛。Miles Davies的小号加了弱音器,出来的声音有一种紧张和不安,仿佛预示着灾难即将发生。
突然——真的是很突然——一记鼓点落下,曲子戏剧地过渡到了“秋之叶”的主旋律,也就是一段小号的抒情。
这个由曲首铺垫转入主题的转折非常强烈而且很有戏剧张力,对于喜欢开头-高潮-结尾古典三段论的人来说,听着是非常过瘾的。
小号将主旋律温情地交代完后,一个突兀的上扬,转交给萨克斯风(Cannonball Adderley),由后者来了一段即兴;
接着是一段小号的即兴;
接着是一段钢琴(Hank Jones)的即兴。
然后再由小号回到曲子的主题,最后由钢琴和架子鼓将旋律渐渐转弱,小号声游走其间,收尾终曲。

所以这首曲子的结构是:开头——主题——即兴部分(萨克斯管/小号/钢琴)——主题再现——结尾
鼓手是Art Blakey,或许是爵士乐史上最好的鼓手了。特意扫了一下专辑信息,低音提琴手是Sam Jones——此人不熟,唉,谁让你是弹double bass的啊。




























2010年11月21日星期日

过马路的小孩

在沙中路站下车后,我犹豫是立马转车回去,还是就近先找个吃晚饭的地方。
马路上,拥堵在一起的汽车发出巨大的声浪。这时一个声音从脚下冒了出来,轻悠悠地爬进我耳朵:“大哥哥,你能带我过马路吗?”
我低头一看,是一个小孩正抬头望着我。他只到我肚脐眼那么高,脖子里挂着钥匙。
竟然叫我大哥哥!我知道今天一身学生模样的装束和肩上的书包帮了我大忙。

“你要我带你过马路?”我问他。
“可以吗?”他继续抬头望着我,然后转过头看了一眼身旁的车流,“我自己不敢。”
“可以啊。”我说。“你爸爸妈妈呢?”
“他们说好了要来接我,结果没来。”
“你刚从哪儿过来?”
“就那里的@#¥%……”他伸手指了指,我的耳朵离他的小脑袋太远了。他的声音在空中传播到半路
就被汽车噪音吃掉了。
“你现在是要去哪儿?”我弯下腰凑过去问他。
“B区。”
“重大B区?”
“对。”
看来这小家伙还是教师子弟。我看着如流的车子从斑马线上轧过,不知道什么时候能找到空隙钻过去。

“大哥哥,你是在重大念书吗?”小孩问我。
“没有。我已经工作了。”
“在哪里工作?”
“渝中。”
“哦。你们单位招人吗?”
嗯?这小孩是想干嘛?“怎么了?”我问道。
“我有几个认识的大哥哥,他们都在找工作。”
小家伙在大学里混的可以哈。“我们单位不招人。”
“大哥哥,你待会儿去我家玩吗?”
“……”这时我特别想知道他父母平时是怎么教育他的——比我妈那个时候教育我有爱多了。“我不去玩。你领一个陌生人去你家,我会被你爸爸妈妈赶出来的。”
终于,远处的一个红灯截住了长长的车流。马路对面的人绕过轧在斑马线上的汽车,小跑过来。

“我们过去吧。”我拉住他的手腕,钻进了车子间留下的缝隙里。他的手腕太细了,我仿佛手里牵着个气球,一松手就能飞走。
牵着他走到马路对面,我松开手。他什么也没说(或许说了声谢谢,但我没有听见),蹦蹦跳跳地像只气球飞走了。



上个月在渝中区民生路上拍到的照片:

结字为劳

在我开垦的这块地里
最下层埋着龟甲、兽骨
上一层是竹简、丝帛
再上一层是用树皮、麻头和破渔网磨成的纸


龟甲和兽骨已经被侵蚀
文字从上面剥离、掉落
它们笔画钩住笔画
像藤蔓一样缠绕在一起,并抱合
成粗壮的树根
密密麻麻的根须透过泥土和冬眠的昆虫
伸向幽暗的地下河


竹简和丝帛已经腐烂
蚂蚁将上面的字咬下
堆积在一处,并
往下,挖出一条


让树根穿过,与那些字会合
连成树干


然后发芽、抽条
浩浩荡荡向纸层进军
每一根新发的枝条都带着自己的使命
——使命早被刻在龟甲和兽骨上
它们要找到纸上的字——唯一的字
并将它刺穿
唯此才能破土而出,在地上
结出新字(籽?)


每一个新字都不一样
每一个都连着一段盘根错节的地下史
我双手合十,为那些在地下
夭折、落难的字默默哀悼
然后赤着双手,给地里的字
护草、松土,将其摆放停当
它们有些已经变了形
有些斑驳难辨
有些微风吹过就发出叮叮咚咚的水声
我知道
那是地下河传来的声音

罗一浮

罗一浮是一个女人
不是一种原名叫“萝衣芙”的草
也不是法国游艇“罗浮一号”的讹传
更不是“裸衣服”的隐晦用语
罗一浮是一个会漂浮术的女诗人
在我的脑海里,
罗一浮是慢慢上升的一颗气泡
在浮出海面前
罗一浮对我有着巨大的诱惑力
(这两天吃了很多零食写了很多诗)
罗一浮是万恶之源

*仿自“拉马丁的诱惑”

献给LY的情诗

我是一只执迷于一种气味的狗
花有花的气味
溪水有溪水的气味
落叶有落叶的气味
可我只认一种气味


我穿梭于街巷、庭院和林间小径
步行于广场和红灯区,并在午夜
回到昏暗的书斋——那儿有一碗热汤和休憩的地方


我是一只与众不同的狗
因为
我不追逐母狗的屁股
也不抬起后腿围着电线杆撒尿


我喜欢在废墟里
刨出一块块刻着字的陶片,然后
叼到森林里的木屋藏起来——只有一个人
知道木屋的所在


那一种气味不好寻找
我只嗅到过一次
那是一个清明节的早晨
写满悲伤的纸片在火光中化成灰
漫天飞舞
纸片上的字融化,像雪珠一样滴落
在石碑上,结成墓文
也就在那个时候  我嗅到了
那难以言状的气味
——言灵的气味


如今我又嗅到了言灵的气味
它像一只鹪鹩安静地
躲在自己筑的巢里
我决定把它从树枝上唤下来
把它带到那幢无人知晓的木屋里
我已经用集齐的陶片拼出了一副
只有它能读懂的图案


诗后记:

昨天下午上了辆公交车,车经过跨江桥,穿过林立的高楼(楼在车窗外随着蜿蜒的马路盘旋),一直来到了城西,并在一处天桥前停了下来。我忽然发现乘客走光了,空荡荡的车厢只剩下了我自己。司机说:“终点站到了”。我有些茫然地下车,然后拐进一条巷子,没想到是西政的后校门。

我走进校园,顺着高低错落的路,边走边拍照,逛到一幢教室楼前。于是我在一张石凳上坐下,然后开始写诗。写到一半,一只小狗跑到我跟前,在我脚边坐下。真是一只神奇的小狗。

2010年11月20日星期六

隐秘之术

献给佩索阿和wren的一首诗




那个会隐秘之术的葡萄牙人
把自己拆成很多小人
给他们不同的名字和职业:
有作家、诗人、神学家,还有一个
擅长解字迷。
他们相互写信,然后
由那个叫佩索阿的主人把信
连同那些小人锁在箱子里。
窗外  烟草店老板慵懒地打着哈欠
他不知道那个隐秘的箱子   以及
一个叫冈波斯的小人
正在写着一首题为烟草店的诗




有一个会编程和漂浮术的诗人
知道如何在一个无聊的午后
从会议室的窗户飞走
我站在烟草店,看见她
                                                漂浮在空中
还有一张会议室专用的椅子
粘在她的屁股上
我喊了她一声:哎,能不能把我带走啊
结果,那张该死的椅子掉了下来
砸在了我的头上……




我苏醒过来后,发现一和二
并没有什么联系

2010年11月13日星期六

唱歌的小孩

《三峡好人》这部写实感很强的片子里,一个小男孩会像神奇的天外来客突然出现在镜头中,他有时在街巷,有时在船上,嘶着嗓子,旁若无人地唱着《老鼠爱大米》、《两只蝴蝶》这样烂大街的流行歌曲。

当时感觉贾樟柯插这么一笔很做作——既然片子里的人物塑造都很写实,为什么要安排这么违反生活常理的角色(有谁在生活里遇到过直接在大街上K歌的小孩)?后来考虑到片子里有一幕,楼房摇身变成火箭飞上天,我就当这些场景是超现实处理了。

之后看到一篇贾樟柯在北大谈影片创作的文章。贾樟柯说:
“[……]在街道上走的时候就碰到唱歌的小孩子,他拉着我的手他说,你们是不是要住店,我说我们不住店,他问我你是不是要吃饭,我说我们吃过了,他很失望,你们要不要坐车,我说你们家究竟是做什么生意的他就一笑,望着14岁少年的背影,这就需要主动的生命的态度,后来我找到他,你最喜欢什么?他说喜欢唱歌,他就给我唱了《老鼠爱大米》,唱了《两只蝴蝶》,我就非常着急地说,你会唱邓丽君的歌吗?教他教不会,他只会唱《老鼠爱大米》,所以用在电影里面,他像一个天使一样,[……]”

如此说来,唱歌的小孩确实来源于实际的生活场景。但我还是觉得超现实。一个人能在大街上边走边嘹亮地唱一曲《两只蝴蝶》,除了难以抑制的内心表达外,还需要在公共场所有如入无人之境的心态——小时候只在家乡看到过一个女疯子具备这样的素质。

那天拿着相机在渝中区的老街里游荡,穿过一条被拆了一半的巷子,看到三个小男孩在残墙断壁上玩闹,其中两个骑在墙上朝下面的几个小孩扔泥巴碎砖。受欺负的几个孩子不服,插着腰要他们下来认错。就在我对着他们拍照时,从后面走上来另一个小孩,嘴里唱着某首大街上流行的歌曲,若无其事地从我身边走过,然后从那一群争执的孩子中间穿过。他忘我地沉浸在自己的世界里,逐渐远去时,我还能听见他的歌声。

紧接着,过江的缆车从头顶掠过,一声“哐当”的巨响,停靠在了矗立在半空中的终点站。

于是我那一直自视为“生活常理”的东西就顷刻间崩解了。

2010年11月5日星期五

the day a Chinese man won the Nobel Prize

It was Oct 8, Friday, 2010,
just one of the days for me, who was bombarded
by emails from customers--
emails with enquiries,
emails with complaints,
emails for information,
emails carbon copied by my colleagues,
emails I didn't bother to open and clicked
                                                               "delete".
A new email popped out--
"Dear Damien, Can you reply to this email for me? Regards!"
It was from my manager, who was sitting one metre away
with his back against me, busy typing on his computer.
"Sure, no problem. Best wishes." I replied.


It was 5 o'clock pm. Everybody seemed to be hectic
in the office, where computers were lined
in the room walled
by transparent windowpanes, through which
could be seen giant columns of unfinished skyscrapers.
A flashing dot was on and off atop
a scaffolded building exposed in grey cement.
Against the foggy tasteless sky, I recognized
that solitary
dot
was a human being welding
on the man-made dead creature in mid-air.


I stared at my reflection on the window and suddenly
noticed a pimple coming out
above my lip.
The food in Chongqing has really messed
up my body. I thought to myself as I pinched
the red lump that was stubbornly rooted
in my flesh. My belly has been full, but
my mind has been empty.


Turning back to my computer-- my livelihood gadget, I started
filling in the rigid forms, compiling bureaucratic documents and writing
emails that would never come to an end. Then I decided
to close them all, and opened
twitter. The screen was exploded--
Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The news was overflowing all over the world, the world
my country has blocked out.


I typed "刘晓波" on my mobile phone and clicked 
                                                                           "to send the message"
"Transmission denied."
Simultaneously, a feedback was received.
I changed "刘晓波" into a hybrid of Chinese characters and English letters and clicked
                                                                                                                                  "to send the message"
"Cool!" "Brilliant!" "Fucking great!"
Friends texted me back. 
I realized the situation I was in--
First they took the person,
now they have taken his name.


The office was still in a hectic state-- both man and machine.
My colleague next to me was talking on the phone with her client
The copier was making robotic sounds and spitting out
documents that nobody enjoyed reading.
I was in my chair watching the world.
My heart was beating.


2010年11月3日星期三

leonard cohen一首名为“诗”的诗



我听说有个人
能把言语说得美妙动听
女人们一听到他说出她们的
名字,就把自己交给了他

如果我在你身边不能言语
沉默仿佛癌症在我俩的唇上绽放
那是因为我听见他上了楼
我听见他在门外清了清嗓子


Poem

I heard of a man
who says words so beautifully
that if he only speaks their name
women give themselves to him.

If I am dumb beside your body
while silence blossoms like tumors on our lips
it is because I hear a man climb stairs
and clear his throat outside the door.


you don't have to be andrew webber to call your work cats