You See the Familiar Dead by Yongbo Ma

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You See the Familiar Dead

You see a familiar dead man

on the crowded subway, dressed in red,

sitting heavily, leaning forward slightly,

as if apologetic for crowding into the next seat.

You catch sight of him through tangled limbs,

your eyes meet, then drift apart,

as if strangers catching each other’s gaze.

You watch him bow his head in thought at times,

wearing a habitual weariness,

you wonder where he is bound for.

This subway heads toward eternal rest,

or a deeper river,

the carriage flickers dim and bright,

hissing with the sound of leaking air.

You know it is him,

you know he is in disguise,

look, he steals a glance at you again,

then quickly turns his eyes away,

pretending he has not recognized you at all.

© Yongbo Ma

Yongbo Ma

Ma Yongbo (Ma, Yongbo) is a Ph.D., representative of Chinese avant-garde poetry, and a leading scholar in Anglo-American poetry. He has published over 80 original works and translations since 1986, including 6 poetry collections. He focuses on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose, including the works of Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Williams, and Ashbery. He recently published a complete translation of Moby Dick, which sold over half a million copies. He teaches at Nanjing University of Science and Technology.

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