A M A N G H U N G
__________________________________________________________TWO POEMS
translated by Melusine Lin
If Some Day My Memory Gets Better
My memory is so great that I don't need to see you
and since I don't want to anyway
we don't ever need to meetDon't feel bad
for stockpiling supplies in my garage
It's enough
for however many years
to face each famine that suddenly strikesMy stockpile fears no darkness
won't grow mold and rot, nor sprout
(become poison)it won't run out no matter how you eat it
and I'll never tire of eatingSome day my memory gets better than it already is
but I've already said my memory is poor
How many years has it been –
we've seen one another just once
were together only one day
(take a whole number, not a fraction)You seemed to say something off color
How about some day you remember better?
Your memory is no better than mine
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