Nails
--Chian-wu Chen (陳千武, 1922-2012), translated by Hao-yuan Lo
My nails grow long
Recently, they grow faster than before
Look at them
My nails had died for me several times
Whenever I clip my nails
It reminds me of death once again…
—— Some clipped nails were put in an envelope
And submitted to a personnel warrant officer
In the battlefield, if you are blasted into pieces
Thus unable to retrieve your corpse
Those nails will be your bone ashes. At that time
I was a lance-corporal in Imperial Japanese Army……
No matter I am happy or sad
Nails always grow long. Long to an extent
When I start to feel uncomfortable
Then, they docilely, let me clip them off
Nails are like something independent to my life
Some living things
Keep growing long and asking me to clip
Whenever I clip them, those nails are
Still alive, then, slowly
Die for me
--first published in Li (The Bamboo Hat) poetry magazine, Vol.132, April,
1986.
Chian-wu Chen, The Selected Poems of Chian-wu Chen, Taipei: Gueiguan
Publishing Company, 2001, pp.133-134.
指甲
--陳千武 (1922-2012)
指甲長了
最近 指甲長得特別快
看看指甲
我底指甲替我死過好幾次
每次剪指甲
我就追憶一次死......
－－把剪下來的指甲裝入信封
繳給人事官准尉
在戰地 粉身碎骨
拾不到屍體
就當骨灰用 那個時候
我當著日本軍兵長......
不管我的意志是快樂或悲傷
不久 指甲總會長 長到
我感覺不舒服的時候
指甲很乖地 又讓我剪
指甲好像是我底生命之外的
生物
長了就要我剪
每次剪下來的指甲
都活著 然後 慢慢地
替我死去
--發表於1986年4月《笠》詩刊132期
陳千武，《陳千武精選詩集》，（台北：桂冠，2001），頁111-112。
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