Spring cries for sandstorm
Forest cries for being chopped
Elks cry for hunting rifles, and fish cry for cutting knives
At midnight, a farmer’s house in front of an excavator, stops crying
寺庙
神青赶
嫖客土匪贪官苍蝇鸟粪可以进
猪牛羊不能进
屠场的叫声不能进
Temple Rules
by Shen Qinggan
Sex buyers, bandits, corrupt officials, flies and bird poops, allowed
pigs, cows or goats, not allowed
screaming out of slaughterhouses, not allowed
给娘添坟
王全安
娘,一辈子活得委屈
总是抬不起头
今天清明节,儿子
给您添一个高昂的坟头
比老村长的还高
Adding Fresh Soil to Mother's Tomb
by Wang Quanan
My mother, lived her life suffering
never kept her head high
It's Qing Ming Festival today, your son is here
adding fresh soil to make your tomb high enough
higher than the one of the old village head
收门票的草堂
包尘
一千多年后
杜老先生怎么想得到
他那几间为秋风所破的茅屋
会成为创税户
Thatched Cottage Now Charging Admission
by Bao Chen
Over one thousand years later
how could master Du Fu think of
his thatched huts doomed to be unroofed by Autumn storms
have become model tax contributors
They each owe their country a commitment of settlement
Their country owes them each a woman back
Here, all families raise dogs
all dogs bark and bite
especially widow Wang‘s, the most aggressive bitch
悬空寺
笨水
挂在峭壁上的寺院
跟挂在墙上的篮子
有什么区别呢
菩萨,回到庙里
如带泥的红薯来到篮中
Hanging Temple
by Ben Shui
Comparing the temple hanging on the cliff
with a basket hanging on the wall
What is the difference between the two
Buddha, going back to the temple
as if potatoes coming into the basket carrying soil
Spring cries for sandstorm
Forest cries for choppers
Elks cry for hunting rifles, and fish cry for cutting knives
At midnight, a farmer’s house in front of an excavator, stops crying
They each owe their country a commitment of settlement
Their country owes them each a woman
All families raise dogs here
all dogs bark and bite
especially widow Wang‘s, the most aggressive bitch