“我問你” (“things to ask”)

“things to ask”

(self-translated from the Chinese)

            how are you / do you like it over there / what should i / do i’ve been feeling a bit

stressed a bit / lost will you cook dinner for me / tonight will you make soup / how do

              you know how much water to put in / when you only ever used your / eyes to

      measure / the water level when you leapt into the ocean / did you use your eyes to gauge

            its depth too / but you can’t / swim so did you worry about / drowning or are the

  tides over there warmer did / they welcome you with arms friendlier than mine

                        i heard / when they fished you out / the kelp had /

             you swaddled like the most loving hug / the sun basking into / your sand-caked

         wrinkles glowed the brightest white / like a mummy / like an angel / like a ghost / and

 then you coughed / up a small ocean / your entire world / your body pruned / like it struggled

                 to hold itself together / you held life in one / hand my mother in another / how

             did that feel like you were once a mother and a daughter too / right so tell me about

                      grandpa / and / the summers you spent in China / and / the unanswered

 dreams you had / and / the deranged red / guards how many times did they beat you up / did

              you cry / can / i cry too / will these tenacious tears make me rust / or liquefy / why /

   when you escaped to here did you / give yourself an english / name the whites that

       laughed at you / did they see the past / you hid behind your eyes / and when the

 soldiers came for you / did you stash papa and auntie / behind your eyes too / when they

             carried machetes and handcuffs / how did you learn to / forget when

               the doctors cut you up / to drain you of seawater and / blood / draining the

                     the cosmos inside you / was that feeling one of fear

              or rebirth / how are you / so good at letting / go back home / i can’t let

 go of a thing / do you think that departure is a promise to tender a tender hurt / i know /

     you dislike speaking of the past / even our language has no past / then let’s pretend

         we have no past / only the present / let’s meet for the first time again

                                            how are you

《我問你》

              你最近怎樣 / 你在那邊過得好嗎 / 我該怎 / 麼辦最近壓力有

     點大 / 有點迷 / 茫你今晚會 / 不會煮飯煲湯你 / 怎麼知道要放多少水 / 既然你只是

          用 / 雙眼去量度 / 你跳海時也是用雙眼去量度水深嗎

 但你不懂游泳那你擔 / 心遇溺嗎 / 或是那邊的潮汐更溫暖 / 更窩心 / 地歡迎你

                               聽說 / 他們把你撈 / 起來時海藻完全包著 /

            你像有愛的擁抱一樣 / 陽光照著睡在沙灘的你 / 海帶在你身上閃著 /

                  白光像木乃伊 / 像天使 / 像鬼 / 然後你突然抽搐吐了個小 / 海洋出來吐了你

                的一生 / 你的 / 皮膚起皺 / 保持不住 /身體的形狀一手托住生命 / 一手抱著

                           我的父親 / 那是什麼感覺 / 你曾經也是 / 父親也是兒子 / 是吧

 那你可以跟我說關於奶奶的嗎 / 和 / 你們在大陸過的炎夏 / 和 / 你們的曾經擁有的夢

                                想 / 和 / 瘋狂的紅色 / 士兵它們把你毆打多少次 / 你有哭嗎 / 我

            可以哭嗎 / 久留的淚水會令我生鏽 / 或是融化為什麼 / 你逃到 / 這裡幫你改

       英文名 / 上班跟白人說 / 英文有被取笑嗎 / 他們看透你藏在眼後的過去嗎 /

                         當士兵來到時你也是 / 把奶奶爸爸藏在過去嗎 / 當它們拿著斧頭 / 和 /

                   手銬 / 你是怎樣學習 / 忘記當醫生把 / 你劏開時抽 / 乾身內的液體那些海水 /

 和 / 血劏開你的星辰河流 / 那種感覺是 / 恐懼還是重生 / 你最近怎樣 /

                  抵禦這 / 寒風我覺得我被吹凍了 / 你認為告 / 別是否放下晦暗的 / 承諾我

                會有機會嗎 / 你 / 最近 / 怎樣我知你不喜歡談過去 / 就連我們彼此的 / 語言沒

                          有過去式 / 那當我們沒有 / 過去只有現在 / 那讓我再問你 /

                                                 你最近怎樣

J.A Lau (he/him) is a literature major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was born and raised in the seaside metropolis, where his connection to the city and the dense nature surrounding it has deeply influenced his writing. He primarily writes short-form poetry, particularly haiku. His works have appeared in various publications such as Frogpond Journal, seashores haiku, House of Poetry, and Humana Obscura.