Pan Cheng Lui 潘正镭 (b. 1955)

SELECTED POEMS

蚂蚁人

“快点起床啦” ，闹钟响破黎明的早安
Hurry up快快是一种仪式
用夜露冲泡一杯蓝色的咖啡
抓起一把一把的计划
在车阵里
留意收音机的消息
一辆又一辆的车子
神游变幻　变换神游
楼比天高
天比楼远

一辆又一辆的车子
长出了触角
又长出了毛足
又长出了触角
像小时候蹲在大树下
看了一整天的蚂蚁

一行一行一行
一条曲曲折折的路
呵！始终是一条迂回美丽的
点点线线
点点线线

他知道什么会飞的
他知道什么会走的
他知道什么会跳的
他知道什么会跳的
他知道什么会走的
他知道什么会飞的

九一一　股票
起起　落落　落落　起起
跌跌　升升　升升　跌跌
移民　公寓　母语　交易
孔子　孟子　老子　庄子
东风　韩流　燕姿　俊杰
Paganini　Tchaikovsky
书法　戏剧和Jackie Chan呀！

COE　ERP　CPF　MediShield
生活之必要　烦恼之必要
房产寒暑表阅读之必要
政府政策爱相随之必要
SARS　魔鬼讪笑　TSUNAMI　上帝眨眼
昨天的狂风　吹今天的乱云
伊拉克　石油　恐怖分子　炸弹
明天的烂账　爆今天的保单
……

I…I…I… what am I waiting for 
反着方向走
蚂蚁总是相逢相遇
顿一顿　停一停
停一停　顿一顿
忙忙又忙上路
I…I…I… what am I waiting for…I…
背后有人在扮鬼脸打手势
哈　哈
哈哈哈哈哈

一瓶酒，两个酒杯，两两两三个酒杯
想象下班黄昏最好
把布景心情移到pub里
把salad变成蝴蝶
蝴蝶变成Marlboro
在嘴角咬
咬成狮子
咬成一条龙
像30岁以前　不！
20岁以前的自己

穿过高脚杯的大肚腩
彩霞映照一栋大楼
每星期失灵三次的电梯
上上下下　晴天
进进出出　阴雨
他转动酒杯　缓缓而来
一只飞鸟腾冲云霞
高楼挡不住视野
窗对窗把历史高举向天空
门对门把意义锁在房子里
森林在城市里只有公园的脸孔
如果没有了眼睛
你的心在看吗？
如果没有了耳朵
你的心在听吗？
唉　如果没有了音乐
舞　你跳得起舞来吗？

老天爷从树下抛下
红红绿绿buah cherry
像满城炫惑过的流星雨
恰恰落在
蚂蚁队伍的中央
蚂蚁蚂蚁四窜而逃
三秒半钟后　一切恢复如常

卡夫卡车阵里有首诗
一个早晨一队蚂蚁一个男人　Yes/No
做人何必惊输？　Yes/No
裁员有没有份？　Yes/No
绿草继续生长　Yes/No
一切都将成云烟　Yes/No
蚂蚁是人　Yes/No
那那……那人是蚂蚁loh？　Yes
我是那一点一滴里的一只蚂蚁　Yes
我是夸大脸孔的宇宙　Yes
让明天插上翅膀飞吧！

在此谨向不会开车的朋友致歉
Never mind
Terima kasih（谢谢）

附记：本诗应新加坡华乐团之邀，据香港新锐作曲家陈明志作品《醉眼看西贡》原谱成篇。华乐团于2002年1月由叶聪指挥演奏／肖君朗诵。2005年8月为光碟录音，应时应事变化，遂更动RAP部。

by Pan Cheng Lui 潘正镭
from A Tree Reborn (1998)

Ant People

“Get out of bed lah,” is the alarm clock’s 
morning greeting, shattering the dawn. 
Hurry up, faster, faster, is a type of a ritual. 
Use the evening dew to brew a blue cup of coffee. 
Grab plans one handful at a time. 
In traffic, 
Keep your attention to news from the radio.
One car after another.
The drifting mind will waver, 
Transforming a drifting mind.
The buildings surpass the sky,
The sky is further than the buildings.

One car after another
grows out feelers
then grows out hairy legs
then grows out feelers again
like when I was a child, squatting under a big tree 
watching ants the entire day 

A row and a row and a row
A twisting and turning road
Hm! Torturous, always, and beautiful these
Dots and lines
Dots and lines

He knows what can fly
He knows what can walk
He knows what can jump
He knows what can jump
He knows what can walk
He knows what can fly 

9/11　Stocks
Rising　Falling　Rising　Falling
Down　Up　Down　Up
Immigrant　Apartment　Mother Tongue　Transaction
Confucius　Mencius　Laozi　Zhuangzi
Eastern Wind　Korean Wave　Stefanie　JJ
Paganini　Tchaikovsky
Calligraphy　Theatre　Jackie Chan, yeah!

COE　ERP　CPF　MediShield
Necessities for Life　Necessities for Worry
The Necessity of reading up on real estate for weather hot and cold 
The Necessity of government and policy loving to be together
SARS　Demonic Laughter　TSUNAMI　God’s Winking
The frenzied wind of yesterday　blows the chaos of today’s clouds
Iraq　Oil　Terrorists　Bombings
Tomorrow’s bad debts　detonate today’s insurance
……

I…I…I… what am I waiting for 
Walking in the opposite direction
Ants always meet (one another)
pausing, stopping 
stopping, pausing 
busy, rushing on the road again 
I…I…I… what am I waiting for…I…
Behind my back there are people
making faces, making gestures
Ha　Ha
Hahahahaha

One pint of beer, two beer glasses,
Two, two, two, three glasses of beer,
Imagining leaving work in the evening is best,
Take your scenery and feelings to the pub
Take a salad and turn it into a butterfly
The butterfly turns into a Marlboro 
Bitten at the corner of the mouth
Chew it into the shape of a lion
Chew it into a dragon
Like yourself from 30 years ago　No!
Yourself from 20 years ago

Passing through a goblet’s pot belly
Pink clouds reflect a tall building
The elevator fails three times every week
Up, up, down, down　A sunny day
In, in, out, out, 　 Overcast rain 
He turns the wine glass　Slowly it comes
A soaring bird darts into the clouds
Tall towers cannot block the view
Windows facing windows lift history
high toward the sky
Doors facing doors lock meaning
inside of the house
The forest in a city only has
the face of a park
If you no longer have eyes,
is your heart looking?
If you no longer have ears,
is your heart listening?
Sigh,　if you no longer have music,
dance　will you be able to dance?

God drops down from the trees,
Red, red, green, green, buah cherry
Like a meteor shower dazzling the entire city
How coincidental, it falls 
Right in the middle of a team of ants
Ants and ants escape to four corners
After three and a half seconds,
Everything returns to normal

There is a poem in Kafka’s traffic
One morning, one group of ants, one man　Yes/No
Being upright, should one bother being kiasu? 　Yes/No
Are people being laid off?　Yes/No
The green grass will continue to grow　Yes/No
Everything will eventually turn to smoke　Yes/No
Ants are people　Yes/No
That, that……that person is an ant loh? 　Yes
I am the ant in that dot in that droplet　Yes
I am the universe with an enormous face　Yes
Let tomorrow put on wings and fly!

Here, I would like to offer my sincere apologies
to my friends who cannot drive
Never mind
Terima kasih (Thank you)

Note: This poem was originally written at the invitation of the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, based on the original score composed by the emerging Hong Kong composer Chan Ming-chi’s Looking at Saigon with Drunken Eyes. It was performed by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra in January 2002, conducted by Ye Cong and recited by Xiao Jun. In August 2005, it was recorded for a CD and, as time and circumstances have changed, it has turned into a rap. 

by Pan Cheng Lui 潘正镭
translated from the Chinese by Jonathan Chan
from A Tree Reborn (1998)

 

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