"The Bird", Lune Loh
an unfaithful translation of Stray Bird's 《那只鸟》
CW: Death
"After sleeping for a good 12 hours, the Bird decided to live - better than good, better than most."
1
The Bird rose from slumber, and wandered towards the forest, wondering. A plane of bluegreen, yellow, black adorned the spot of grey in the sky. And the Bird gazed, attentive, trance-like. And the Bird was ecstatic: having forgotten the Self, it stood motionless on the plains. An alarm rang somewhere; the Bird remembered that is was a day of mourning ongoing, for another Bird. Wrangling a bouquet, the Bird rushed out of their home. The lights were still hanging, luminescent - it appears that the Bird had forgotten again. Not that the Bird was at any fault, being in a hurry. Perhaps the daytime was to be blamed, for the lights in the house no longer have any use. Somewhere in there, water continues to drip in the toilet, not that the Bird had erased its memory, but there were scars left over from the shower. Let this be in tandem with the lights: the water will stop dripping naturally.
2
Among shivering drops of rose-color:
there can be no resolution from the fervent heart.
The Bird gazed at an IKEA plate—cold, unfinished chicken-wing duller.
Gone was the expectation of the sun to take hunger apart,
replaced by the coffin wreaths that strangled the heart.
The Bird no longer thinks about it as the days pass.
Once the crowds rise, the Bird vanishes into grass.