宇宙问道:你的命运是什么?
宇宙问道:你的命运是什么?
客燃脑回答:
去全世界旅行，
虽然结果并无意义，
并且会把耻辱带回家庭。
因为我非常相信
我必须说的话，
我必须写的作品，
以及，透过人类的历史，
我必须传递的信息。
The universe asks; what is your destiny?
The universe asks; what is your destiny?
Kiran responds:
To travel the world,
Do nothing of value,
Bring shame to my family.
Because I believe so much
In what I am meant to say,
In what I am meant to write,
In what I am meant to pass down,
Through the annals of humankind.
噪音问：你什么时候找到内心的平静？
客燃脑回答：
首先我要停止关注我家庭说的话。
然后，我就听见自己的内心；
然后，目的就会降临；
然后，我便跟随目的。
这样我就有了平静。
A loud noise asked
A loud noise asked:
When will you find peace?
Kiran says:
I ought to stop listening to what my family says.
First, I will be able to listen to myself.
Then, my purpose will come.
Then, I will follow my purpose.
Then, I will know peace.
一个在公交的陌生人说:你最爱什么?
客燃脑说:抚摸狗的肥胖胡子看空心电视，
做我的父母高兴。
我在写好的时候休息。
然后客燃脑明确了:
但是这些东西满足我的精神，
不我的身体。
红树林，
特别明丽，
颜色切我的舌头。
特别包揽的母，
它们有龙的照耀。
但是他们不是野生。
我看他们给我想想
一千火。
一百跳舞的吉卜赛人。
我的未来的爱人。
用最古老的交流的工具性高潮，
语言，
触动我尝试了解人类。
这些是我的做爱的东西。
A Stranger on the Bus Asks: What Do You Love the Most?
A stranger on the bus asks: What do you love the most?
Kiran says:
To pet a dog on its belly.
To watch mindless television.
To make my parents happy.
To rest after writing well.
Kiran then clarifies: but this is how to please my mind and not my body.
A mangrove, so bright, it’s color cuts my tongue.
Eyes so sapphire, they belong to the dragon,
But these are eyes that do not belong to the wild,
A thousand naked flames –
One hundred gypsies in dance –
But to my future lover.
Communicating through the primal tools of humanity to understand another person’s self.
Orgasm, language, touch.
These are a few of my favorite things.
在酒吧很好看的男进了客燃脑问: 你怎么男的种喜欢?
在酒吧很好看的男进了客燃脑问:你怎么男的种喜欢?
客燃脑面对他和回答:
一朵莲花的花瓣比他的笑暗淡,
一同火龙果比他的亲吻没有味道。
可能他矮小，
可能他又胖，
但他问我关于我的最喜欢的书，
当我犯错，
他原谅我。
有些人叫他克里希纳，
有些人叫他拉玛，
我叫他我的情人，
我的哈比比。
他好看?
他还好。
他很聪明?
相对如此。
当我们做爱的时候，
和我们的皮肤彼此摩擦，
我的皮肤变黑了，
他的皮肤变亮了
我们的棕色变得一样。
在酒吧很好看的男嘲笑。
他问为什么我不想
一个帅或者聪明的男。
客燃脑的回答是简单。
当瀑布流动的，
充满活力的级联，
它必须放入，
池塘中最具气质的。
A handsome boy at the bar approaches me and asks: What is the kind of guy you like?
A handsome boy at the bar approaches me and asks: What is the kind of guy you like?
Kiran faces him and responds:
A lotus flower has petals dimmer than the luster of his smile,
A dragon fruit imparts a lesser taste than the thrust of his kiss.
He might be short, he might be chubby,
But he asks me about my favorite books,
He forgives me when I say something wrong.
Some call him Krishna,
Some call him Rama,
I call him my habibi.
Is he handsome?
Just okay.
Is he smart?
Relatively so.
But, while we make love,
And our skin rubs against each other,
My skin darkens,
His skin lightens,
We become the same shade of brown.
The handsome boy at the bar scoffs.
He asks why I do not want,
Someone who is handsome, or smart.
Kiran’s answer is simple.
Because when a waterfall flows,
With the full vigor of the cascade,
It needs to drop down,
Into the most stolid of ponds.
“A Handsome Boy” was previously published in Fearless Love: Anthology, by Mohini Books
我的男友问我:你为什么喜欢我?
我的男友问我:你为什么喜欢我?
我回答:因为身处自然，我们本该在一起
它不是宇宙法则
不是政府强求
这是天命
你我在一起便是自然而然
你我便是自然
让我给你个例子
海洋由无数个粒子组成
当海洋孱动的时候
它并不知道为什么在动
只是自然而生
我们就如海洋
我推动着你
你推动着我
我无法知道你自哪而生
你无法明白我至哪而死
客燃挠知道
我想让你看看在你体内的所有部分
我想让你清楚我的极限在何方
我想和你如琵琶鱼般缠绵
变成小鱼蠕动在女性的身体里
直到他在她身体里消失
换句话说, 我们是两个灵魂，
一个肉体
My boyfriend asked: Why do you like me?
My boyfriend asked: Why do you like me?
I answered: Because according to nature, we should be together.
It is not that the universe dictated it by law,
it was never a government mandate,
nor the will of the Heavens.
It is the simply the nature of you and I together.
It is natural for you and me.
Let me give an example.
The ocean is made of many particles.
When the ocean is moved,
The ocean does not know why it is being moved,
It simply reacts.
We are like the ocean.
You move me.
I move you.
I do not know where you begin.
You do not know where I end.
Kiran knows;
I want you to see every part of your body.
I want you to know the limits of me.
I want to mate with you the way the angler fish does.
To be that little fish that squirms into the female body.
In spirit two,
in body, one.
“My Boyfriend Asked” was previously published in the What Rough Beasts blog run by Indolent Books
Kiran Bhat is an Indian-American traveller, polyglot, and author. He is the author of the English-language story cycle, We Of The Forsaken World… (Iguana Books, 2020), the Spanish-language poetry collection Autobiografia (Letrame Editorial, 2019) the Mandarin-language poetry collection Kiran Speaks (White Elephant Press, 2019), the Portuguese-language story collection Afora, Adentro (Editorial Labrador, 2020), and the Kannada-language travelogue Tirugaatha (Chiranthana Media Solutions, 2019). He has had his writing published at The Brooklyn Rail, The Colorado Review, The Florida Review, Eclectica, Waxwing, The Free State Review, Cha, The Mascara Literary Review, The Chakkar, and several other places. You can currently find him nested in Melbourne, but he calls Mumbai his eternal home.
Kukku Xavier is an Assistant Professor in English at All Saints’ College, Thiruvananthapuram.
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