罗纳瓦拉的清晨 Lonavala Dawn

罗纳瓦拉的清晨

Lúonàwǎlā de qīngchén
 
鸟鸣声像药水滴进耳朵
niǎomíng sheng xiàng yàoshuǐ dī jìn eřduo
披衣起床
pīyī qǐchuáng
走出门外
zǒuchū ménwài
远远看到早晨的薄雾中
yuǎnyuǎn kàn dào zǎochen de bówù zhōng
一个穿白衣的印度人蹲在河堤上拉屎
yígè chuān báiyī de Yìndùrén dūn zài hédī shang lā shǐ
这幕景象我在奈保尔 
zhe mù jǐngziàng wǒ zài Nàibǎo’ěr
关于印度的那些刻薄文字中 
guānyú Yìndù de nàxīe kèbó wénzì zhōng
早就读到过 
zǎojiù dú dào guo
他在书中写道：
 tā zài shū zhōng xiě dào
一排印度人
yīpái Yìndùrén
蹲在河边拉屎 
dūn zài hébiān lā shǐ
边拉边聊天 
biān lā biān liáotiān
如同在社交 
rútóng zài shèjiāo
我因此睁大双眼 
wǒ yīncǐ zhēng dà shuāngyǎn
引颈翘望
yǐn jǐng qiáo wàng
想看看还有没有别的拉屎的人 
xiǎng kànkan hái yǒuméiyǒu biéde lā shǐ de rén
这才发现 
zhè cái fāxiàn
原来我看错了 
yuánlái wǒ kàncuò le
并没有一个穿白衣的印度人蹲在河堤上 
bìng méiyǒu yígè chuān báiyī de Yìndùrén dūn zài hédī shang
而是一只白鹭 
eŕshì yízhī báilù
一动不动 
yídòngbúdòng
站在那里 
zhàn zài nàli
 
—May 3rd 2016
 

Lonavala Dawn

Birdsong trickles in like eardrops.
I get up, get dressed,
step outside.
In the distance, through the mist of dawn I see
an Indian in white squatting by the river taking a shit.
I read this scene
in Naipaul’s harsh writings on India
ages ago -
he describes
a row of Indians
squatting by the river taking a shit,
shitting while chatting
as if hobnobbing.
So I widen my eyes,
crane my neck,
keen to see more shitting people,
only to discover
I saw wrong.
There is no Indian in white squatting by the river,
just a white egret,
motionless,
standing there.
 

Lonavala Dawn

Birdsong like liquid medicine drops into ear
Put on clothes get out of bed
Go out the door
In the distance see in the mist of dawn
A {wearing white clothes}- Indian person squatting on the river bank taking a shit
This sight I in {Naipaul
About India}- those [harsh/unkind/cruel] [letters/writings]
Long ago read
He in book wrote:
A row of Indian people
Squatting on the river bank taking a shit
Shitting while chatting
As if socialising
I because of this open wide both eyes
Stretch neck into distance
Want to see whether there are any other shitting people
Only then discover
It turns out I saw wrong
There is no {wearing white clothes}- Indian person squat on river bank at all
But rather a little egret
Motionless
Standing there
 
—May 3rd 2016
 

Shen Haobo, born in 1976, came to fame at the start of the millennium as part of the ‘lower body movement’, and is known for his earthy, visceral work, so a poem about shitting seemed a good place to start. Lonavala is in India, and this is an interesting travel poem that warns of the dangers of reading – how a strong literary voice can affect our experience of place, and lead us into misconceptions.

‘Hobnobbing’ is probably the word here that caused the most debate. Dave Haysom’s literal translation read ‘as if socialising’ – but that didn’t quite work as in the English chatting is socialising (rather than being like socialising). We discovered the original word carried a sense of formal occasion, and the group came up with lots of possible solutions – did the shitting chatters look as if they were networking? Mingling? Having a meeting? Eventually we settled on ‘hobnobbing’ because it implies high social status, which brings out the humour and contrast in the image.

Clare Pollard – Poet Translator

Original Poem by

Shen Haobo

Translated by

Dave Haysom with The Poetry Translation Workshop Language

Chinese

Country

China