This poem has been translated from Chinese by Chow Teck Seng. Read the original here.
Poet’s note: This poem is based on the famous movie, Farewell My Concubine (1993). Instead of a formal reflection or critique, I have made it a parody of the voyeur and the exhibitionist. The title 霸王别姬 refers to King Chu saying his farewells to the concubine. But I have left out a word, and 霸王别 means “King Chu, please stop,” thereby switching the angle of narration from the King to the Concubine (who is being pleasured).
I’m actually a MALE ACTRESS.
– Cheng Dieyi, protagonist of Farewell My Concubine
Farewell
1.
This sucky costume
soaked with more than sweat in this oven-like office
glued to every inch of my body
and actions
like a prison
2.
uncontrollable addiction:
the couple embraced in intimacy on the bus
the old mama engrossed in villain-hitting1 on
the street
the seats rocking back in the vehicle
-even the aircon is malfunctioning
today
3.
Knocking off from work only after midnight
everyone still burning incense sticks
like a ritual
paying off their debts of sins
A scorching hot volume of moist air
arousing primitive desires
4.
Still that spiralling staircase
of desire, with interchanging realities and
illusions
at the entrance
the surveillance camera held in their palms
5.
Looks like the boss
not a day he invites
hurried visitors
passing by the building
your thoughts: yesterday confirm tak dapat
6.
That’s the journey of every voyeur
spying from his office space
watching your every movement
trapped in wet and stuffy clothing
7.
Stop please!
Hegemon-King
References and Further Reading
- Villain-hitting: Chinese folk sorcery used to curse one’s enemies. It is traditionally done by hitting a human-shaped piece of paper with a pair of clogs. Read more here.
- Roger Ebert on Farewell My Concubine
About the poet
Gu Xing Xi (Andy Ang) graduated with honours in Chinese studies from Nanyang Technological University, and is currently an educator. He founded TrendLit, a literary society and publisher, which produces WhyNot, a Chinese literary magazine. His writing under the pen name Gu Xing Zi has appeared in publications in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan. His poetry collections include Destroy All Gods and After Commotion, The Void. He also edited the anthology In the Space of a Poem 2015 and Unpredictable: Fifty best poems. A recent interview can be found here.
About the translator
Singapore-born Chow Teck Seng writes poetry primarily in the Chinese language. He has won awards such as the Singapore Literature Prize (2014) and Golden Point Award (Chinese Poetry, 2009), and has been featured in several international literary events. He lectures in Chinese Literature in Malaysia and Singapore at the National University of Singapore, and is also pursuing a PhD in literary criticism and comparative Sinophone literatures at the University of Cambridge. You can find more of his work here, here and here.