Wei Xianhe

    Translated by Huang GuoshengThe wines say sorry to the paddies,

    The rivers say sorry to the fish,

    The hoes say sorry to the wastelands.

    The handcuffs say sorry to the prisoners,

    The wooden fish say sorry to the Bodhisattva,

    The diamond says sorry to the love,

    The scalpel says sorry to the baby who’d been strangled.

    The pen says sorry to the truth,

    The cage says sorry to the bird,

    The today says sorry to the yesterday,

    The textbook says sorry to the history,

    And the bullet says sorry to the bloody life.

    The road says sorry to those who’d lost their roads,

    I, say sorry to myself.