People Catching Fire

People catching fire

won't burn up

in so short a time

People light other people on fire

relying not on flames

but anger

Inside that metal door

are enough tragedies

to raise the flame's intensity

Can the gradual change of color

when people burn

be fit within a spectrum

be seen or

passed through

After they burn, do people

become gas

or dust

are they memory or trace

can they be touched

or lifted into the wind

to live a life of freedom

Is the sky after people have burned

empty

or a reflection of the ground

People keep burning

into untold sparks

into charcoal, and fuel

for others' burning

The furnace never can be dimmed

nor people all burned up

人烧起来了

人烧起来了

一时半会儿

也烧不完

人把人点燃

不是依靠火焰

而是愤怒

那道铁门内

有足够多的悲剧

将火势放大

人被燃烧时

的渐变色

能否嵌入光谱

被看见还是

被穿越

人燃烧后

是变成气体

还是粉尘

是回忆还是痕迹

是否能被触摸

被抬进风中

过自由的生活

人燃烧后的天

是空的

还是地面的倒影

人继续燃烧着

成为数不清的火种

成为碳和燃烧

他者的燃料

炉子永远不灭

人永远烧不完

Translated by Henry Zhang