HAN KANG

此物谓心

【韩】韩江    陈子弘 译

我检视一个被抹去的词。

残存的一丝丝模糊线索，
在字母ㄱ或
ㄴ弯曲处
那些本已空出的缺口，
就算拭去前也如此，

我意欲去往那些地方，
佝偻着肩头
腰弓轻伏下去，
屈膝，脚踝紧贴一起，

而渐渐黯淡的心，
仍未令何物可比于此

尚未抹除干净的利刃，
在我唇边划来划去。

我寻觅更深邃的幽暗，
舌头蜷缩。

A Thing Called a Heart

by Han Kang

I examine an erased word.

A part of a faintly remaining line,
The place where ㄱ
or ㄴ bends,
gaps that were already empty
even before they were erased,

into such places I find myself wanting to make my way
hunching the shoulders inside
bending the waist,
flexing the knees, the ankles pressed tight together,

while the heart that grows faint
still does not make anything else grow faint

a less erased blade
slashes my lips at length.

Seeking a yet darker place,
my tongue cringes curling.

English translated by Brother Anthony
and Eun-Gwi Chung