献给李红旗的诗 / Poem for Li Hongqi

你来了
带来了我爱吃的药
还有可口的明天
我该怎么来感谢你呢
给你药吃
给你一个喑哑的梦
还是陪着你失眠
来感化你的绝症

1999.12

—

You came
Bringing my favorite drug
And a delectable tomorrow
How could I ever repay you
To give you the drug
To give you a wan and wordless dream
Or to stay up beside you
And soften your incurable fate

—

from the Fall 2025 (Second Fall) Issue of Common Place Poetics

—

Li Hongqi (b. 1976, Zouping, Shandong) is a poet, novelist, artist, and filmmaker from China. In his own words, he was interested in illustration since an early age; attempted to make music in 1995; mainly focused on poetry and novels between 1998-2004; and since 2004, he mainly works in film and other audiovisual creative projects.

Cecily Chen is a writer and translator from Beijing, China. She is currently completing her PhD in English at the University of Chicago, where she works on experimental Asian American literature, aesthetic theory, and racial form. She is also the poetry editor at Chicago Review.