As Servant For A Lifetime
(a group of short poems)
By Zhao Xiaobo
Translated by Tulip
Sword Spirit
In 2012
I wrote down from New Year's Day till New Year's Eve
The year as if only for one day
In 2012
My creation of one year
Seems just a poem I only wrote
In this year
I forged a weak orchid
Into a sharp sword
Block
By dyke to stop flood
We force the Yellow River into rivers on land
That hanging high over the village
By net-dam to block up
We gather grassroots voice as lakes on sky
That soaring high over the nation
As servant for a lifetime
Parents serve for the party all their life
I serve for the country in my lifetime
We have never been the master
Love the old
It’s Valentine's Day today
When I came from Hong Kong Cultural Museum
My eyes were fully covered with rust
I find that I am increasingly
Tired of new but love the old
Dollar bills
It is the universal and common bills
With full justice in the front
Yet filled with betrayal the back
Face
A celebrity with great airs
Put all of the over- titles
On his business card
As if such a card is nothing but his face
A spot of scene for one Yuan
Newspaper is a breakfast of people in Hong Kong
This convenient shop sells cheaper newspapers
At only one yuan
So there lines up in front of it
Like a lingering snake
The convenient shop lies there
Under the mansion’s eaves of
A two-millions house