Born in Singapore in 1973, Chee Lay Tan has studied and lived in Singapore, Taiwan and United Kingdom. With 6 books of creative writings, he was awarded the Young Artist Award by the Singapore National Arts Council in 2004. He is currently researching in Chinese Modern Poetry at Cambridge University.

1973年生于新加坡。曾求学新加坡、台湾及英国，现为剑桥大学博士生，研究现当代中文诗歌。他曾出版6本文学创作，并获得2004年新加坡国家青年艺术奖。

Silent Appetite

沉默口味

warm voices have come
and they go,
connections made beneath
differentiated accents.

where no wine or tongues fulfil,
words quench and meet our appetite
for warmth and touch
			

温暖的声音们来了
又走，
联系油生在
众口音的背后。

当醇酒和舌头无法满足之际，
文字，为温度和触摸
解渴充饥
			

The Silent Sound of Madness

疯狂之沉默声响

like an asylum in the deepest
winter, even the snow
is quiet
falling on iron vertical bars
standing on moral grounds
in a suicidal manner
from the expressionless
moon, with light
as cold as a 
shattered mirror
raising one frozen ear
to listen to the other

one even loses track
of left and right
like a long forgotten path
buried under snow
leading to a motionless
ward, from

another
in the sound
of the noisiest
silence
			

如最深冬季中的精神病院
连雪
也沉默
降在矗立道德土地
的钢条上
以自尽之姿
从无颜之月
带着冷若破镜的光
竖起冻僵的一耳
聆听另一耳

我经已辨识不清
左右
如深埋雪底的小径
从一间毫无动静的病房
通向

另一间
在最喧闹的
沉默声中