But It Was This Time and This Place

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But It Was This Time and This Place

I thought I had been through every type of circumstance

but I never expected

I would imprison myself for so long

for so long. Yesterday the haze was thick outside my window

Today, it’s sunny for a thousand miles

The day before yesterday a blizzard

I look down from my upper story apartment

I look to the left, to the right

Of course, it’s not just me who has confined myself

This world that has suddenly revealed its true form

Even the devil is powerless

and before I used to think it was all imaginary

For example, I thought Kṣitigarbha’s descriptions of hell [1]

were only to enlighten sentient beings, but it turns out they were of this time

and this place. What I thought before was simple falsehood

“Give me your hand for a time. Hold on

to mine…. Squeeze hard. Time was we

thought we had time on our side.” [2]

—Woeser

Beijing, February 15, 2020

translated by Ian Boyden, February 17, 2020

[1] Kṣitigarbha is one of the primary Boddhisattva’s of East Asian Buddhism, and made a vow to not to become a Buddha until all hells have been emptied. His descriptions of hell are particularly vivid.

[2] “Through the Boughs” by Raymond Carver, in All of Us: The Collected Poems. In this poem the phrase “Time was” is the cry of birds

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[This poem and translation first appeared on Radio Free Asia, March 16, 2020]

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【却原来是此时，是此地……】

我什么境况都想到过

但就是没想到

会把自我囚禁这么久

这么久，窗外昨天阴霾浓郁

今天晴空万里

前天暴风雪

从高高的住所往下看

往左看，往右看

禁闭自己的当然不只是我

这个突然露出真相的世界

连魔王也无能为力

我之前以为这都是虚构

譬如地藏菩萨对地狱的描述

只为教化众生，却原来是此时

是此地，而之前无非虚妄

“把你的手伸给我一会儿。握在

我的手上……紧紧握住。时间就是我们

以为时间就在我们身边。”

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～唯色，2020-2-15，北京

注释：

[1]卡佛的诗《透过树枝》中的诗句。

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