Kiev Spring

By Bai Hua

Where's the spring night sleepless in this planet
Kiev, under old chestnut trees, light is on!
A Ukrainian maiden just reading ...
It turned out that Anton Chekhov was a revolutionary writer...

Such a spring night, he didn't write gorgeous stanzas
never had a chilled out with his dream girl, a pity
a high school student. Did Chekhov really say that:
"Electricity and steam are more human than vegetarian cuisine."

La politique, quelle belle chose. More is the left-wing? Did I say it?
Old adults have more phlegm and children talk a lot. All spring night
I don't wish to provoke the crowd, only want to go out...
I just look for a few hundred thousand whys and wherefores from mom.

April 21, 2015/  translated by Chen Zihong

基辅之春

柏桦

这世上哪来彻夜不眠的春夜
老栗树下的基辅，灯亮了！
一个乌克兰少女在读书……
哦，契诃夫原来是个进步作家……

如此春夜，不写华丽的诗
不与梦中人登山临水，一个中学生，
可惜。契诃夫真说了这句话吗：
“电和蒸汽比素食更符合人性。”

政治多么美。进步更美？我说过吗？
老年痰多，孩子话多。春夜
我不想惹群众，我只想出去……
我只想再问问妈妈十万个为什么。

2015年4月21日

注释一：“政治多么美”，我说过。1989年12月26日，我在南京农业大学培训楼，我的宿舍里说过。见我写于那天的一首诗《1966年夏天》中的两句：

瞧，政治多么美
夏天穿上了军装