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Live Encounters Poetry & Writing English-Chinese Edition January 2023
Fans in Trees, poems by Yang Xiaobin.
Fans in Trees
What else can winds do if not fan the flame?
How many delusions can be scotched when burning?
Wave hard, the flaming mountain will blaze even brighter.
The princess, although cunning and cruel, cannot bear
singing with her aching belly—
abandoning a fire won’t make the mountain flame into ashes.
Nothing has changed but the leaves of treetops
sound more husky, so why not play the round fan like a moon lute?
Let the plum-blossom’s drizzle drum on each ear bone.
If one’s not standing steadily, the waist will be hot
like summer—think hard,
it only reaches the surface. Thus,
when one wraps the air tightly
ignoring its slumbering state—
the breath is not enough to burn,
then let the breeze wake it up.
树上的扇子
不点火，风还能干嘛?
烧起来又能烤干多少浮云?
使劲挥，火焰山烧得更旺。
公主再刁蛮，也顶不住
一边肚皮痛一边唱歌——
丢弃一把火，也不会
让江山灰飞烟灭。
无非是听树梢的叶子
又沙哑了些；那还不如
把团扇当作月琴弹奏，
每个骨朵上都叮咚出梨花雨。
要不是站得稳，腰热起来
更不甩夏天——使劲猜,
也只能是皮毛。那麽,
你绑紧空气的时候
全然不顾它已经入睡——
鼻息不足以焚毁的,
就让微风来吹醒吧。
Guide to Living in Infected Zones
Some numbers defeat other numbers.
In some zones, you have to pinch your nose.
you fear losing the sense of smell, rush to the restroom to check.
Do take a bath with rubbing alcohol right after touching the air with gloves.
For two years, you haven’t kissed anyone,
yet you suspect that the dog in your arms is the source of the infection.
Do not talk more over the phone, the virus spreads fast.
Just take off from the living room and land in the bedroom.
Vaccines are more like heroin than a placebo.
In an overcast spit-out froth, is the fine rain the sweetest?
Can infected spots be worse than smallpox?
A sneeze makes everyone explode.
I’ve been in love with naught for a long time, but why is it still beautiful?
疫区生活指南
一些数字打败另一些数字。
一些地区必须捏鼻子。
怕失去嗅觉，就到厕所闻尿。
带起手套摸完空气后，
立刻用酒精洗澡。
两年以来从未接吻，
却疑心怀裡的狗是感染源。
不多说电话了，病毒传播快。
那就从客厅起飞，在卧室降落吧。
疫苗比强心针更像海洛因。
在云的飞沫裡，细雨
是最甜的吗？染上的
火花，会比天花更可怕?
一个喷嚏让人爆炸。
爱上零很久了，为什么还是美?
English translation © Anna Yin/© Yang Xiaobin
杨小滨，诗人，艺术家，评论家。耶鲁大学博士，现任中研院研究员，政治大学教授，《两岸诗》总编辑。曾任密西西比大学、威尼斯大学、美国加州大学（戴维斯分校）教授，中国教育电视台《艺术争鸣》栏目主持人。著有诗集《景色与情节》、《洗澡课》等。近年在两岸及北美举办“踪迹与涂抹” 等展览
Yang Xiaobin is a poet, artist, and critic. He has received PhD. from Yale University and currently teaches in Taiwan. He is the chief editor of Cross-Strait Poetry. He has been a professor at the University of Mississippi, Università Ca’ Foscari (Venice), and the University of California (Davis). He has authored several poetry collections and has held exhibitions such as “Traces and Usure” on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and in North America.