Poem
Feng Na
Chinese fable
When I was small my father’s coworker ran offcoming back with one of those briefcases full of money
close, smutty talk filled our town
about what he’d done to get it
he smiled and disappeared again
Next we heard
he'd been sentenced to death for drug trafficking
a family member claimed the ashes, but the box was stolen in the metro
—It obsesses me, this box
like a fable or something
Other people are like me
they want to know its whereabouts
like standing at the exit
searching for this story’s entrance
© Translation: 2018, Henry Zhang
中国寓言
中国寓言
小时候，父亲的一位同事停薪留职不知所踪某天突然出现，腰缠万贯满面春风
关于他的经历，在当地秘密而热闹地流传
他笑而不答，旋即再次消失
再一次听到他的消息
因贩毒在另一个省份被执行死刑
家人领回他的骨灰盒，却在车站被人偷走
——像一个诡异的寓言，它困扰着我
很多人和我一样
一直想知道那个骨灰盒的下落
就像站在出口
想知道这个故事的入口
Poems
Poems of Feng Na
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Chinese fable
When I was small my father’s coworker ran offcoming back with one of those briefcases full of money
close, smutty talk filled our town
about what he’d done to get it
he smiled and disappeared again
Next we heard
he'd been sentenced to death for drug trafficking
a family member claimed the ashes, but the box was stolen in the metro
—It obsesses me, this box
like a fable or something
Other people are like me
they want to know its whereabouts
like standing at the exit
searching for this story’s entrance
© 2018, Henry Zhang
Chinese fable
When I was small my father’s coworker ran offcoming back with one of those briefcases full of money
close, smutty talk filled our town
about what he’d done to get it
he smiled and disappeared again
Next we heard
he'd been sentenced to death for drug trafficking
a family member claimed the ashes, but the box was stolen in the metro
—It obsesses me, this box
like a fable or something
Other people are like me
they want to know its whereabouts
like standing at the exit
searching for this story’s entrance
© 2018, Henry Zhang
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