Singapore-born Chow Teck Seng writes poetry primarily in Chinese. Frequently contributing to literary journals, anthologies and the Chinese press in Singapore and abroad, he has won awards such as the Singapore Literature Prize (2014) and Golden Point Award (2009). His poems in English translation are found in & Words: Poems Singapore and Beyond (2010), Union: 15 Years of Drunken Boat, 50 Years of Writing from Singapore (2015), SG Poems 2015–2016 and the online journal, Poetry at Sangum. They have also been adapted as short films by students of Lasalle College of the Arts in 2017. A former lecturer (in Chinese-language literature) at the National University of Singapore and National Institute of Education, he is currently pursuing a PhD at Cambridge University.
穿上 脱下
——穿衣的哲学*
你脱下，我们穿上
穿上纯真，脱下端庄
美丽的幼儿园我们穿上校服
裹在一个哪吒还未被遗忘的年代
步向水漫小学学堂快乐的倾盆中
脱下原本刷了白油的帆布鞋
脱下，洁白的颜色如水脱下
脱，连濡湿的袜子都脱下
然后穿上明年，穿上成长
穿上睡衣、白衣蓝裙、衬衫、长裤皮鞋
穿上内衣、家居服、百慕达、拖鞋
扣纽扣、绑上腰带、拉平皱痕
拉上拉链、整理领口
女人画唇画眉、上妆
涂上香水、装上耳环
僧人穿上僧服、世人结上领带
树穿上像化妆品面膜的日光
穿上如网的年轮
脱下叶子、美貌
男人穿上军服，戴上爱国主义
脱下春夏秋冬
削了皮的苹果，《小王子》中摇尾的狐狸
蛇褪下过时的蛇皮，壁虎脱掉时间的尾巴
天使是穿上衣服还是赤身裸体？
魔鬼是戴上面具抑或是裸露狰狞？
在陌生的婚宴、政治正确的场合
我们最终穿上笔挺的西装
外套、面具，一副金框的眼镜
手中紧握着酒杯
酒杯，它戴着一副世故的光亮
Put On/Slip Off
– The philosophy of dressing
By Chow Teck Seng
You slip off, we put on
Put on innocence, slip off decorum.
For our beautiful kindergarten we put on uniforms
Tucked in an era where Nezha hadn’t yet been forgotten
Walking towards the school’s rain-soaked compound
Slipping off canvas shoes coated with whitener
Slipping off, the whiteness slips off like water
Slipping, even the wet socks slip off,
And then putting on the upcoming year, putting on growth.
Putting on pyjamas white shirt blue skirt dress shirt trousers leather shoes
Putting on underwear house clothes Bermuda shorts slippers
Button up, belt up, smoothen the creases
Zip up, tidy up the collar.
The women paint their lips, ink their brows, put on makeup
Dab on perfume, fix on earrings.
The monks put on robes, the heathens knot their neckties.
The trees put on sunshine as a cosmetic mask
Put on the years like a net
Slip off leaves and beauty.
The men put on army uniforms and wear patriotism on their sleeves
Slip off the four seasons.
The apples are skinless, the fox is wagging its tail in The Little Prince,
The snakes unroll outdated skins, the lizards shake off their timely tails.
Are angels fully-clothed or naked?
Is the devil masked or baring his fangs?
In wedding banquets of strangers, and politically-correct occasions,
We would still be putting on sharp suits
Jackets, masks, gold-rimmed glasses
Wine glasses tight in our clasp –
Glasses that wear a certain sophisticated sheen.
(Translation by Yong Shu Hoong)
* previously published, without the English translation, in Chow Teck Seng’s Poetry of You and Me (Lingzi Media, 2012)