by Ma Yongbo 马永波
A chilly winter night, going alone to watch a Soviet film,
dusty leather boots polish your nose tip causing widescreen commotion;
muddy winter in Moscow, fields lined with trenches like wounds,
women’s noses pale as frozen peppers,
their headscarves flicker repeatedly behind the woods.
Soldiers in the cold grocery shop drink ice-cold beer;
the beer ferments a grassy taste in your stomach.
Next they tear themselves away from their women to jump onto a train.
Young faces are reflected in the dim windows,
children scatter in the grass like birds, the wind blows leaves all over you.
Faint sunlight on the steps, no one talks to you.
The war is delayed until spring, hot and cold like malaria.
Cavalry gallop along the railway line, their black cloaks causing people’s eyes to close.
In the cinema, women bloom as expected, and your hands relax slightly.
When the show is over, you become friends with the heroine, with a noble and serious expression,
carrying the girl like a captured German submachine gun;
you kept taking her home.
After this winter, the girl has matured into a woman
sitting quietly beside your book, knitting sweaters,
warmly answering your call at any time.
You no longer think of summer, nor quarrel with people in your dreams,
letting the trenches on those Russian fields crawl up onto your forehead.
After this winter, you are more peaceful;
buried in your work, like a veteran who survived the Great War.
3 November 1987
Written when Ma Yongbo was 23
Book cover image: Film Posters of the Russian Avant-Garde by Susan Pack
Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波 and Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 2024
寒冷的冬夜独自去看一场苏联电影 A Chilly Winter Night Going Alone to Watch a Soviet Film 马永波
寒冷的冬夜独自去看一场苏联电影
沾满灰尘的皮靴擦亮你的鼻尖引起宽银幕的骚乱
莫斯科泥泞的冬天田野上布满伤口样的战壕
妇女们鼻子苍白如冻辣椒
她们的头巾在树林后一闪而逝一闪而逝
寒冷的小店士兵们灌下冰凉的啤酒
啤酒在你胃里发酵出一种草味
然后他们扯掉身上已婚未婚的妻子跳上火车
年轻的面庞映在幽暗的车窗
孩子们如鸟撒满草丛，风刮你一身树叶
阳光瘫软的台阶没有人和你交谈
战争拖延到春天，如疟疾忽冷忽热
骑兵沿铁路线往来奔驰，黑斗篷刮得人们闭上眼睛
而电影院里女人如期怒放，你的手微微放松
散场时你和女主角成了朋友，表情崇高严肃
挎着姑娘如挎一枝缴获的德国冲锋枪
你一直把她带回家去
经过这个冬天少女已成熟如同妇人
安静地坐在你的书边编织毛衣
随时温暖地回答你的召唤
你不再想起夏天，梦中不再和人争吵
任俄罗斯田野上的战壕一直爬上额头
经过这个冬天，你更加宁静
埋头于工作，像一个大战后幸存的老兵
3 November 1987
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