in the time of fires: kangaroos on the lawn

they knew we were responsible,
gathering on the clipped-suburban-green
close and dense as kangaroo stalks

that grew each face at the window;
grave and animal.Thirsty, too tired to run

from the flame, they stood and stared
at the brick-forest of human houses
fur-hundreds in their quiet grey-height

Helen Pletts
Picture: Aboriginal art

火灾发生时：草坪上的袋鼠 Chinese translation by Ma Yongbo ⻢永波

它们知道是我们的责任，
聚集在修剪过的郊区绿地上
密密麻麻，有如茎杆
每张脸都⻓在窗口;
坟墓和动物。干渴，疲惫
无法逃开火焰，它们站立
凝视人类房屋的砖瓦丛林
数以百计，穿着安静的灰毛大衣
海伦·普雷茨

First published in English in ‘Flora/Fauna volume one,
A Collection of Nature Poetry and Photography’
by Open Shutter Press, February 2024

Ma Yongbo

MaYongbo was born in 1964. He is a Chinese scholar focused on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose including the work of Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Williams and Ashbery. He recently published a complete translation of Moby Dick. He teaches at Nanjing University of Science and Technology.

Helen Pletts

Helen Pletts: (www.helenpletts.com) Currently lives in UK. Shortlisted for Bridport Poetry Prize 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023, twice longlisted for The Rialto Nature & Place 2018 and 2022, longlisted for the Ginkgo Prize 2019, longlisted for The National Poetry Competition 2022.  2nd prize Plaza Prose Poetry 2022-23. Shortlisted Plaza Prose Poetry 23-24.

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