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Poems on the MRT

寂寞三行 / 3 Lines of Solitude by Lee Hock Ming (Mu Zi)

 

寂寞三行
木子（李茀民）

其一：清晨

我在虚拟世界追赶
梦，刚到手的
美丽，被朝阳洗劫一空

其二：寒窗

醒来，思念是一封一封长长长长的信
我让短短短短的火柴
一根一根去读

其三：空山

突然发现，空旷的
寂寞，像回声
一样嘹亮

其四：落叶

从脸上的皱纹
我仿佛看到
春天最后一丝苦笑

其五：苍海

没人跟他说话时
那片平静
最深、最沉

其六：孤舟

我在船上垂钓自己水中倒影
倒影在海面收集
波纹的心事

其七：摇椅

当你也老了
会不会点一盏灯，翻阅
我年轻时写过的诗 

其八：冷街

被路灯流落的瘦弱
身影，什么时候轮到你
丰满地回家 

其九：暗夜

夜，长长地长了
梦就跟着
多了 

其十：荒冢

把我孤独的影子埋葬
月光，会帮忙立起
凉凉的墓碑

——新世纪东南亚华文小诗精选（浙江工商大学出版社2018,p 42）

3 Lines of Solitude
Written by Lee Hock Ming (Mu Zi)
Translated by Shelly Bryant

i • morning

chasing dreams in the virtual world
the beauty just within grasp
plundered cleaned by the rising sun

ii • frosted window

waking, longing is a stack of long long long letters
i make short short short matches
read them one by one

iii • empty mountain

suddenly realizing the spacious
loneliness as clear
as an echo

iv • fallen leaf

from the wrinkles on my face
i seem to see
spring’s last faint bitter smile

v • vast sea

when no one speaks to him
that calm
is deepest most profound

vi • lonely boat

i fish for my own reflection from the boat
the reflection gathers upon the sea’s surface
the ripples’ matters of the heart

vii • rocking chair

when you too grow old
will you light a lamp and turn the pages
of the poems I wrote when I was young

viii • cold street

when will it be your turn
gaunt shadow of the streetlamp
to return home full and whole

ix • dark night

the night grows long longer
and dreams follow
multiplying

x • deserted grave

bury my lonely shadow
the moonlight will erect
a cool stone marker

— Published in Selected Short Chinese Poems from Southeast Asia (Zhejiang Gongshang University Press, 2018, p. 42)

Prof. Lee Hock Ming started writing poems, lyrics and prose in the 1980s. He obtained his BA and MA in National University of Singapore, and his PhD in Shanghai Fudan University, China. He is a retired Professor with Beijing Institute of Technology (Zhuhai), teaching Classical and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Traditional Chinese Culture, Creative poems and Lyrics Writing. He is also a column writer with Lianhe Zaobao and a song writer in Chinese pop music. His most well-known music works is the National day Chinese theme song “Home”. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow of Chaozhou Hanshan Normal University, China.

李茀民，笔名木子。新加坡国立大学荣誉文学士、中文系硕士，复旦大学古代文学博士。现为潮州韩山师范学院特聘研究员，曾任北京理工大学（珠海）中美国际学院教授。文学著作有诗集4本，杂文和文化随笔各3本，歌词评论和小说各2本，散文1本。词曲创作包括电视剧《雾锁南洋》主题曲、《小娘惹2》主题曲《落花如雨》和爱国歌曲《家》。

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Poems on the MRT is an initiative by the National Arts Council, in partnership with SMRT and Stellar Ace. Produced by Sing Lit Station, a local literary non-profit organisation, this collaboration displays excerpts of Singapore poetry throughout SMRT’s train network, integrating local literature into the daily experience of commuters. Look out for poems in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil in trains on the East-West, North-South and Circle Lines, as well as videos created by local artists and featuring local poets in stations and on trains. The Chinese, Malay, and Tamil poems are available in both the original languages and English. To enjoy the full poems, commuters may read them on go.gov.sg/potm.

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