The Feline Warrior

Note from The Feline Warrior: This poem titled “Requiem” is excerpted from a trio of poems titled Nineteen Eighty-Nine, written by Mr. Yang Xiaobin and first published in the Beijing Spring in September 1996. The original author and publisher retain copyright over the original Chinese poem; the following English translation is the work of The Feline Warrior.

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I hear from the northward, the sound of countless skulls crushed underneath steel wheels Alongside shadows with shrill shrieks and cries painfully fallen, dropping before the bullets

I see countless sparkling eyes whence the last drop of tear oozes out, vanishing into air with that bloody metallic scent

I feel fresh gore burned to ashes

Overnight, lies have become knives

The eviscerated public square, the ghastly terror, and the deathly silence Curls of smoke, floating like ghosts frozen, turning into gravestones and icy-cold memories

As the tyrant’s fingers tear apart your beating hearts The ripped-open hearts are singing even more forcefully

A benumbed nation is being questioned what the aroma of flesh smells like It comes from the plaza where people have been scorched

Having become minerals smelting in the burning flames

我聽見無數頭骨在鋼輪下碾碎的聲音 從北方傳來！還有淒厲叫喊的影子 在子彈下慘痛僕倒 我看見無數晶瑩的眼睛濺落，帶着 最後一滴淚水，化爲腥味的空氣 我觸摸到新鮮的血燒成灰土！ 從謊言到屠刀，只有一夜之隔！ 被掏空了內臟的廣場，恐怖，死寂 煙縷如鬼飄泊 凝凍成 石碑，冰冷，成爲記憶 當暴君的手指撕裂你們搏動的心臟 這些張開的心臟唱得更響 一個麻木的國度被質問：什麼 是肉體的芳香？那是在廣場上 被焚爲焦土的人們散發的！ 你們成爲礦藏 在火焰下冶煉！ 楊小濱『一九八九·輓歌』