‘…MUST GET HOME’ 必须回家, graphic illustration by Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨 ,
specially created for Ma Yongbo 马永波
the poet re-imagined as a Nanjing red lobster—for Yongbo—for fun
诗人被重新想象为一只红色的南京小龙虾
——赠永波——戏作
in the market, the poet escapes from a red bucket,
he is muddy from the seabed, his syncopated claws
holding the key to his own home. Red and shiny shell lands
him on the beach of books, where he scuttles to and fro
between the caves. Sometimes the light is Yeats’ fire glow,
or Keats’ bright star hovering, or mirror-light flickering in the white dust
from the seabed as he shifts along the sandy floor.
The books lift and flap at their spines like dark-backed mantas,
merfolk slipping through their pages to greet him. He is submerged
but he can not swim. With small silver bubbles popping from his mouth,
he suddenly rises to the surface, remembers he is a man
Monday 11th August 2025
Response Poetry By Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
诗人被重新想象为一只红色的南京小龙虾
——赠永波——戏作
the poet re-imagined as a Nanjing red lobster—for Yongbo—for fun
在市集上，诗人从一只红桶里逃出生天，
浑身沾满海底的淤泥，那对切分音的螯钳
攥着自己家的钥匙。发亮的红壳托着他
来到书的沙滩，在他那里的洞穴之间
来回穿梭。有时，光线是叶芝的火焰，
或是济慈高悬的亮星，又或是他在沙地上
挪动时，海底扬起的白尘里闪烁的镜光。
书本宛如黑背的蝠鲼，书脊扬起，拍打着，
人鱼滑出书页，迎接他。他沉入水中
却不会游泳。随着银色的小气泡从嘴里冒出，
他骤然浮上水面，记起自己原本是人类
2025年8月11日，星期一
Red lobsters for sale in a Nanjing marketplace, this is a delicacy
greatly enjoyed by Ma Yongbo
Helen Pletts watching footage of Ma Yongbo eating lobsters in Nanjing.
He is saying that he has paid 60 yuan for a large pot of lobster, five yuan for
peanuts, he has Harbin beer, he is shirtless, enjoying the coolness of early
summer alone Ma Yongbo’s lobster – YouTube
Ma Yongbo standing in his Nanjing study, in front of one of the many
floor to ceiling bookshelves Nanjing study – YouTube
A vast crowd waits for me at home
一大群人在家中等我
They must be whispering to one another.
Homer tunes his lyre, ready to sing of a man’s wrath.
Milton describes Satan and the flames of brimstone to his daughter.
Borges, seizing the moment, condenses the universe into a single chart.
Heraclitus and Parmenides
argue on and on about process and essence.
Lucretius hangs aloft swarms of souls,
heavy-laden, until they transform into the farthest stars.
Ovid wanders alone on the shores of the Black Sea,
Time his only companion.
Dante counts the laurel leaves upon Virgil’s brow.
Faust, racked with a splitting headache, is not weary of knowledge,
only weary of his obstinate lover-pupil.
Keats, eager, invites me to shine with him.
Bishop, who loved women, prepares with green wine bottles
to teach me an “art of losing” not hard to master.
Pigeons rise from the abyss, wrapped in dense fog.
Ariadne still clutches her ball of thread, sword laid at her feet.
Odysseus’ black sails sail on beyond the setting sun.
This whole lot babbles loudly, bumping foreheads with one another,
only the nameless guest leans by the window, watching the rain outside.
As if when I walk out, the rain drifts farther away,
as if from now on, I am always on my way home.
I know when I suddenly push open the door,
they will all wipe their expressions clear
like seabirds nesting on the cliff of a bookshelf, eyes bright and sharp
gazing silently down at a newborn infant.
April 4, 2009
Response Poetry by Ma Yongbo 马永波
Response Poetry Translated by Ma Yongbo 马永波
一大群人在家中等我
A vast crowd waits for me at home
他们肯定在交头接耳
荷马调好了里拉琴，准备歌唱一个人的愤怒
弥尔顿正在向女儿描述撒旦和硫磺的火焰
博尔赫斯则趁机把宇宙缩成一张图表
赫拉克利特与巴门尼德
一直在争论过程和实体
卢克莱修悬挂起灵魂的蜂群
累累垂垂，直到变成最远的星星
奥维德在黑海之滨独自徘徊
只有时间是他的伙伴
但丁细数维吉尔头上的月桂树叶
头痛欲裂的浮士德不是厌倦知识
只是厌倦了固执的情人学生
济慈，急于邀请我与他一同闪耀
玩同性恋的毕肖普，准备用绿色的酒瓶
教给我一门并不难掌握的“丧失的艺术”
鸽子从深渊中升起，裹着浓雾
阿里阿德涅依然缠着线团，剑放在脚边
奥德修斯的黑帆依然向落日之外航行
这一帮家伙吵吵嚷嚷，互相碰着脑门
唯独那无名的客人倚在窗边，望着外面的雨
仿佛我走在外面，雨就去了更远的地方
仿佛从此我一直走在回家的路上
知道等我猛地推开门，他们都会收起表情
像在书架的悬崖上筑巢的海鸟目光明亮
沉默地俯视着一个刚出生的婴儿
2009.4.4
Ma Yongbo 25th June 2025, Nanjing, China, Planet Earth, the Universe
Helen Pletts 19th June 2025, Cambridge, UK, Planet Earth, The Universe
Nanjing Red Lobster, photographer unknown
All images under individual copyright © to either Ma Yongbo 马永波 or Helen Pletts 海伦·普莱茨
.