C. K. Williams grew up in Newark, New Jersey, is an American anti-war poet, translator. Senior poet Paul Muldoon has described him as “one of the most distinguished poets of his generation.” He has won various awards and honors, including National Book Critics Circle Award (1987) and Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (2000), etc. Currently he divides his time between Princeton and France.

C. K. 威廉姆斯成长于美国新泽西，是一名美国反战诗人、翻译。知名诗人保罗.马尔登（Paul Muldoon）曾将其誉为“在他的年代中最卓越的诗人之一”。其诗歌曾获得多项荣誉及奖项，包括于1987年获得的美国国家书评奖，及于2000年获得的普利策诗歌奖等。他目前居住于普林斯顿及法国两地。

西楠，80后，伦敦政治经济学院比较政治学硕士，英国BBC中文网站（英伦网）专栏作者；有杂文、随笔、诗歌、小说及时政类作品散见《南方日报》《羊城晚报》、北美《世界日报》、英国华文媒体《英中时报》《伦敦时报》《新欧华报》及数家英文杂志等；旅居伦敦。

Xi Nan, post-80s generation, graduated in MSc in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, columnist of the BBC UKChina site. Her literary work and other articles have appeared in China News Service, Nanfang Daily, Yangcheng Evening News, XKB newspaper, The China Press / US Qiaobao, World Journal, UK Chinese Times, EU Chinese Journal, and several English Magazines. She lives in London.

Zebra

斑马

Kids once carried tin soldiers in their pockets as charms   
against being afraid, but how trust soldiers these days   
not to load up, aim, blast the pants off your legs?

I have a key-chain zebra I bought at the Thanksgiving fair.
How do I know she won't kick, or bite at my crotch?
Because she's been murdered, machine-gunned: she's dead.

Also, she's a she: even so crudely carved, you can tell   
by the sway of her belly a foal's inside her.
Even murdered mothers don't hurt people, do they?   

And how know she's murdered? Isn't everything murdered?
Some dictator's thugs, some rebels, some poachers;
some drought, world-drought, world-rot, pollution, extinction.

Everything's murdered, but still, not good, a dead thing   
in with your ID and change. I fling her away, but the death   
of her clings, the death of her death, her murder, her slaughter.

The best part of Thanksgiving Day, though—the parade!
Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Kermit the Frog, enormous as clouds!
And the marching bands, majorettes, anthems and drums!

When the great bass stomped its galloping boom out
to the crowd, my heart swelled with valor and pride.
I remembered when we saluted, when we took off our hat.
			

孩子们曾在口袋里装上小铁兵作为对抗恐惧的
魔法，但如今如何再相信士兵们
不会装上子弹，瞄准，把你腿上的裤子打落？

我有一个从感恩节集会上买回的斑马钥匙链
我如何确知她不会乱踢乱踹，或咬我的裤裆？
因为她已经被机关枪谋杀：她死了。

同时，她就是她：即使被如此粗糙的制成，你仍能通过
她腹部的晃动看出她体内孕育的小马驹
即使被谋杀的母亲们也不会伤害人类，不是么？

那么如何知晓她已被谋杀？不是所有事物都已被谋杀么？
一些独裁者的暴徒，一些叛徒，一些偷猎者；
一些干旱，将要干旱的，将要腐坏的，污染，灭绝

一切都被谋杀了，但仍然，不好，在你的身份
与改变中有一件死亡之物。我将她抛出，但她的
死亡紧贴着，她的死亡之死，她的谋杀，她的屠杀

感恩节中最美好的事，却是——那游行！
米老鼠，史努比，青蛙科密，庞大如云！
还有游行的乐队，鼓乐队，赞美诗和鼓！

当那美妙的低音重击飞驰向
人群，我的心填满勇气与骄傲
我记得我们行礼的时刻，记得我们曾摘下帽子