A Tale of Two Cities

By Kuan Sun

Jinsong Dongkou, Workers' Stadium, White Dagoba Temple
What sugar gourds strung together, sour and sweet
I spoke Pekingese, but occasionally Northeastern dialect speaking out
students held back laughing like a time bomb was counting down
At alley exit,  children waited for me off duty to play jumpsies
Thank you for helping me regain my bouncing childhood

Wherever I am, Beijing is as worried as my mum
long-windedly. Frequently I move back and forth two cities
Harbin - Beijing, and then, Beijing - Singapore
At Chinatown, alleys are getting narrower, just the strings of erhu
Gradually, the orchid is supplanted by white champaca
winter jasmine is supplanted by bougainvillaea

It's my Beijing from anywhere I had travelled
The sugar-fried chestnuts sold in Chinatown are nostalgic
The opened memory is chewed well and carefully
Eu Tong Sen Street, and the morning I cycled past Tiananmen
stars dotted on the torch,  bells ringed my youth
gathering at the mouth of Singapore River, with the Merlion

Coming and going with overweigh baggage, in a heartbeat
in Beijing, a pitapat is love; in Singapore, my marriage with dancing taps
noodles fried-bean-sauce, Roti Prata, my days and poems
Travelling all over the world, searching for soul and breath of storm petrel
I just pushed open windows in Beijing
being caught in the rain from Singapore, as well

translated by Chen Zihong

双城恋

孙宽

劲松东口，工人体育场，白塔寺
一串串糖葫芦串起来的，酸酸甜甜
我的北京口音，偶尔冒出东北土话
学生们强忍的眼神，就像搞笑频道的炸弹在读秒
牛街的胡同口，挤满等我下班后跳皮筋的小孩
他们帮我撑起的童年，最有弹跳力

无论我在哪里，北京都像母亲一样操心
跟在我身后絮叨着，我频繁于双城间置换
哈尔滨——北京，北京——新加坡
牛车水的巷子越来越窄，窄成二胡的弦
胡姬花渐渐开成了白玉兰
红墙下娇嫩的迎春花，长出三角梅的粗犷与泼辣

世界的任何地方，都曾是我的北京
牛车水的糖炒栗子把乡愁炒得香气四溢
记忆被一瓣一瓣掰开，慢慢嚼成碎末
在余东旋街口，想起穿雨披骑车穿过天安门的早晨
星星挂在车把上，震动着铃铃作响的青春
聚集在新加坡河口，与鱼尾狮站成并排

行李来回超重的迁徙，无法停歇的心跳
“砰砰”蹦跳的北京是爱情，“咚咚”舞蹈的新加坡是婚姻
京腔的炸酱面，罗蒂布拉达咖喱是我的日子和诗
走遍全世界，寻找海燕的灵魂和气息
刚刚推开北京的窗
又下起了新加坡的雨