Yu Hsien /  雨弦

Yu Hsien（b. 1949, alias Chung-chin Chang） before retired from public office in 2014, he had been Vice Director of the National Museum of Taiwan Literature, Director of Kaohsiung Municipal Broadcasting Station, and Director of the Funeral Parlor of Kaohsiung City.  His publications include poetry “The Tree of Husband and Wife” and “Shadows”, and essays “Exit, and Love Letters by Express” which was later staged.  He was awarded several national and local medals. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate for Chinese Literature at National Kaohsiung Normal University.

雨弦，本名張忠進，1949年生。2014年從公職退休，曾擔任國立台灣文學館副館長、高雄廣播電台台長、高雄市殯葬管理所所長等。著有詩集《夫妻樹》、《影子》、《出境》等，書信集《愛情限時批》，後者曾被搬上舞台劇。曾獲國家及地方文藝獎章。目前為國立高雄師範大學文學博士候選人。

email：ccc6527956@yahoo.com.tw

 

 

        Retired Reluctantly from Public Office /  惜別公職

 

In between morning stars and unemployment

My wife read a newspaper as usual

 

The government encouraged talents to work in the rural area

Zixia*, standing by the side and chiming in with the police

Said, “A man who is superior in study should serve.”

For the civil service examination, one needed not rush to the Capital City

Local office was good enough for one to start with

 

In retrospect, at the twelve posts I once served

Days had been squeezed for almost twenty-eight years

From eight in the morning to five in the evening

Between the two endpoints

What had we been chasing after?

On this treasured land piece of my life

How many dream seeds had been sown?

How many flowers had bloomed and withered?

 

In 1974, my career began

With running public errands in the mountain

Ah! Green corpuscles, green corpuscles

I was wet through with the sweet-smelling sweat

 

In my golden years from 1988 to 1998

On the most treasured land piece of my life:

From the senior house to the funeral parlor

I asked myself: How much comfort had been extended to the aged folks?

How much concern had been shown for them at the funeral ceremony?

 

In the year of 2010, I finally arrived in the Capital City, the terminal

The Palace Hall of Literature, located in a prefectural town

Enthusiastically engaged in uproarious yet splendid festivities

How could I not fear parting from them?

 

On the rest eight pieces of my treasured land:

Trees have grown wide with spreading branches and shade

Making sure that my Host will be well taken care of

I, then, could leave without worry

 

In between evening clouds and retirement

I have a Narcissus complex with my own shadow

 

*Zixia, noted for literary performance, is a beloved disciple of

  Confucius.

 

        惜別公職     

 

在晨星與失業之間

妻習慣地讀著早報

 

政府鼓勵人才下鄉

子夏在一旁附和

學而優則仕

趕考，不必進京

就從地方基層出發

 

回首歷歷，12個工作站

被壓縮的一萬多個日子

每天朝八晚五

在兩點之間

追逐什麼呢

這人生的精華地段

撒下多少夢的種子？

多少花開花落？

 

而1974，我的最初

山上那些跑腿的日子

綠血球啊綠血球

一身是汗水的芬芳

 

最精華的一段

1988—1998K黃金歲月

從老人院到殯儀館

給過多少遲暮溫暖

多少告別關懷

 

而2010，終點來到京城

坐落府城的文學殿堂

4年繽紛喧嘩

雖已告老，卻又怎捨得還鄉

 

其餘的8個精華地段

一樣地擴枝散葉

照拂我親愛的主人

而後安心地離去

 

在晚霞與退休之間

我戀著自己的背影

 

        The Memory in an I-Ching Class /  記易經課

 

The class filled with speculations of the "Eight Trigrams"

Our old professor squinted his eyes

Like a horizon, touching upon

An ontology of the Universe

 

In fact, "changing" and "unchanging"

Co-exist constantly

In time and space

 

So as we have claimed, we are the dragons:

Being the hidden dragon: do not act

Being the looming-up dragon: present in the field

Being the flying dragon: present in the heavens

Being the arrogant dragon: have regrets

 

Sitting by the window leisurely

I did not notice that how long time had elapsed since the campus bell rang

 

Translated by Chen Ruey-shan

 

 

        記易經課

 

教室很八卦，老教授

的眼睛竟然瞇成了

地平線，牽動了

宇宙本體

 

其實，變與不變

恆在宇宙的時空中

存在著

 

所以說，我們是龍

     潛龍勿用

     見龍在田

飛龍在天

     亢龍有悔

 

閒坐小窗

不知鐘響已多時