Karen Kun’s Translation #12 - from Kerri Shying R’s “Birth day”

Birth day

It’s time to thank your mother

thank the old ones

thank the stones

the water air

someone breathed you in

then out

before the day you birthed

crushed you into ochre

dabbed you on warm skin

the land lived fine

without you

fire burned trees

grew the sky it moved with stars

you never knew

keep going look back

lightly the world is made

of all this too

生日

生日

感謝母親

感謝老者

感謝石頭

感謝空氣

生產的那天

母親吸氣

吐氣

把你揉碎在赭石裡

輕拍你溫暖的皮膚

你永遠不知道

沒有你

大地也會好好的

大火燒掉樹木

天空跟隨著星星走

變得更寬 更大

再回頭看輕柔地編造著
世界與這一切