Wife and Fish

by Haizi, translated by me

I hold my wife like
water holds fish
I extend my hand trying
to touch the tiny rain drops
so that my lips wil blossom

but fish is a dumb woman sleeping
at the bottom of the river dying
lonely
in her dream

I can't see the water
the painful fresh water drowning
my hand and the fish, flowing
into my lips

the water will converge
my beloved wife is found
no more after the rain.
the water will converge

Nobody knows if it's my wife
above her water or the fish under the water
or if it's the fish above the water
or my wife underneath

After leaving my wife, I am
one
bag filled with fresh water
walking on the land


妻子和鱼
——海子

我怀抱妻子
就象水儿抱鱼
我一边伸出手去
试着摸到小雨水 并且嘴唇开花


而鱼是哑女人
睡在河水下面
常常在做梦中
独自一人死去

我看不见的水
痛苦新鲜的水
淹过手掌和鱼
流入我的嘴唇

水将合拢
爱我的妻子
小雨后失踪
水将合拢


没有人明白她水上
是妻子水下是鱼
或者水上是鱼
水下是妻子

离开妻子我
自己是一只
装满淡水的口袋
在陆地上行走

Death Poem 2

by Haizi, translated by me

You, the girl I can see
the girl in water
please come to the wheat field
and put away my bones
into a bouquet of reed-flowers
put it into a box and take it home

You, the clean girl, the river girl
the girl I can see
please touch your hands on the wheat field

When I've lost my hope
of riding on my wheat back home
please tidy up my messy bones
and put them into a little wooden box and take them back
like you take back your rich bridal dowry

but please don't tell that woman
who is hanging clothes by the hay now, proped against the wood
-- my mother



死亡之诗(之二)


——海子

我所能看见的少女
水中的少女
请在麦地之中
清理好我的骨头
如一束芦花的骨头
把他装在箱子里带回



我所能看见的
洁净的少女, 河流上的少女
请把手伸到麦地之中



当我没有希望坐在一束
麦子上回家
请整理好我那凌乱的骨头
放入一个小木柜。带回它
象带回你们富裕的嫁妆



但是, 不要告诉我
扶着木头, 正在干草上晾衣的
母亲。