A Poem to Liu Xia
​written by Zeng Jinyan  

​​TO LIU XIA
A poem by Zeng Jinyan
December 25, 2014
 
She chooses
The train heading toward the re-education through labor camp
In her splendour bridal dress of black
Skirt swirled open
A bouquet tossed
Into a future prison cell (into a prison cell 20 years later?)
 
She chooses
To circle
From the living room to the kitchen
To the bedroom to the study
Smoking a long, thin cigarette
As she decocts a pot of herbal medicine
 
She chooses
To make a list (To count?)
The noisy sparrow on the branch
The snowflake floating down from the sky
To drink a glass of blood-red wine
And ride, without moving, for a mile or two
 
She chooses
This regret
This man who came bearing hearty wine and song (the man does not
drink but service wine to her, how to translate?)
A pack of grinning lothario poets for friends (?)
To draw the ghost of Kafka
Into the howls of her ugly dolls
 
She chooses
The silence
Of a howl in a Tsvetaevian love poem
Or the shadow of a bird cast with fingers at dusk
A line of white letters on black paper
The soft click of a shutter
 
In pale makeup
And black armor
The fog that never recedes
Her
Neverending performance art set
That unfolds on a stage with no exit

​致刘霞
 曾金燕
 
她选择
开往劳动教养所的火车
黑色是新娘华美的礼服
监视者眼光中铺展裙摆
花球轻掷
未来监狱囚室
 
她选择
徘徊
从客厅到厨房
从卧室到书房
抽一支万宝路
熬一锅中药汤
 
她选择
清点
枝头聒噪的麻雀
天空飘落的雪花
喝一杯血红美酒
原地骑行两千三百米
 
她选择
缺憾
一个斟酒唱歌的男子
一群傻笑放浪的诗友
画一笔游荡的幽魂
抚摸丑娃娃的嚎叫
 
她选择
沉默
于茨维塔耶娃呼啸的情诗
于日暮手指投影的飞鸟
写一行黑纸白字
快门咔嚓一声轻按
 
白妆容
黑披挂
她自己就是
一场无终结的行为艺术
盛开在没有边界的舞台