Photo by Zachary Kadolph on Unsplash
by Raindust
Do children now listen to
stories of Chucky, Hanako-san(1)
Aunt Tiger(2), or
curse of the Pharaohs?
Would they still enjoy
elephant slide(3)or paper dolls?
We were scared, intrigued but scared
Distancing away. Now,
what are they afraid of?
What are we afraid of?
Like Chucky, hate comments
kill. As Tigress the media lies.
With elephant time runs away.
Hanako’s loneliness
and confinement of dolls.
I walked into the society
the tomb of mummies
in fear
of being cursed.
Notes:
(1) Hanako-san: (according to Wikipedia) a Japanese urban legend about the spirit of a young girl named Hanako-san who haunts school bathrooms.
(2) Aunt Tiger: a classic Taiwan legend about a tiger who seeks to eat 3 children and becomes human. (Read the full story on LTL Taiwan website)
(3) Elephant slide: a famous Taiwan ghost story. In old times, there were elephant slides in every school. It is rumored that every former principal was buried under the elephant slide. The elephant would walk around and cry blood during midnight.
單純是一個朋友隨手發在IG的作品，我就拿來翻譯了。非常久遠前的一個小機緣。
他可能甚至沒有下標，標題是我下的。
Raindust is a friend of mine and she writes poetry from time to time on her IG story. The original language of this poem is more colloquial as compared to other poems. I like the idea and the dark tone immediately when I saw the poem; I just could relate as a grown-up that is about to face society. I got her permission and made the translation a bit more poetic.
By the way, it also contains a lot of cultural references. I hope it isn’t a large barrier for you to enjoy this poem!
Original text:
現在的小孩還知道圖坦卡門的詛咒嗎
虎姑婆呢
花子的故事聽過嗎
有玩過紙娃娃嗎
聽說過大象溜滑梯的傳說嗎
看過恰奇嗎
這些不知道具不具代表性
小時候害怕的、敬而遠之又忍不住研究的東西
越來越遠了
再問最後一個問題
現在的小孩害怕什麼
現在的我
害怕和恰奇一樣會殺人的言論
害怕和虎姑婆一樣會騙人的媒體
害怕和大象溜滑梯一樣會跑走的時間
害怕和花子一樣的孤單
害怕和紙娃娃一樣被關起來
害怕這社會和圖坦卡門的陵墓一樣
一旦走入就中了詛咒
