A poem for you must be in this form,
in parallel couplets, like we’re strolling shoulder-to-shoulder
This also means that a pause is a turn in conversation,
like a change in topic, turning onto another street
We admire a slow pace, but this mustn’t
become a self-hinting, an excuse even, therefore silence
Yes, for a long time we’ve been silent to each other
though we’ve walked the same road, entered the same restaurant
Today, we have a definite purpose
you’ll lead me to a place, if I choose to follow
This will mean: I won’t be silent, I’ll need an exit
though we’re entering the purgatory of our forbearers
Translated by Eleanor Goodman and Wang Ao（顾爱玲、王敖译）
EN 
MK