James Poy Wong 黃培正

“I also despise, despise, despise . . .
The fear of bright red blood, rancid corpses — I despise it all!
I tell you, I want to go home!"

"Here Me Out" - 1944

听我来说


你讨厌汽油的统制,
因为漂亮的自由车没法驾驶。
你讨厌杂货店中买物的麻烦,
有时逼着要吃没肉的素饭。
香港老板像和你结了世仇,
连买鞋你也失却了自由。
就算你有遍地的黄金,
购物也不能称心。
你讨厌家中的寂寞,
你觉得儿子他去的冷落。
你讨厌,你讨厌, 你讨厌 。 。 。

但是,我也讨厌这日夜的苦操,
半夜起来, 月牙儿还挂得高高
我讨厌这海岛上的闷热,
和那些要命的蚊虫瘟疫。
我讨厌这雨泥水泽的法国战场,
天天看着人类的死伤。
我讨厌日夜地伏在战壕中,
观看着火和烟密布的灰空。
我讨厌这些杀人的砲火声音,
我更害怕有颗子弹钻尽我底心。
我讨厌千万难民饥饿的呼号。
我也不愿用刀刺进别人的心门来找自己的出路。
我也讨厌, 讨厌,讨厌 。 。 。
怕人的鲜血, 腐臭的尸骸—— 我都讨厌!
我告诉你, 我想回家!

你愿意你底爱人——我——归家。
听着我高兴地呼着 “哥哥”, “妹妹”, 或 “妈妈”。
那么请你立刻再买
一张百元的公债,
它是你梦幻中乐园的车票。
你不妨也跟着我高声呼叫:
“买!买!买!”
“买公债!”
假如你有些见识,
你不会放弃这难得的利息 ——
七十五元换上一百元 ——
你的肩背从此没有战前那般重,
只要你参加这第六次的战债运动,
如果你想完成我回国享乐的好梦。
不要忘记这次的战债运动,
来, 再买一张百元的战债!
把永久的和平迎进这个人世!

Hear Me Out


You despise the domination of oil,
because without it cannot be driven this automobile.
You despise grocery shopping and its inconvenience,
at times being forced to eat bland meals with no meat.
The Hong Kong boss appears to have bonded with you a generational feud,
You’ve lost the freedom to even buy a pair of shoes at will.
Even if you possess gold from every direction,
You would still be unable to shop in satisfaction.
You despise the loneliness at home,
Your son’s departure leaves you feeling lonesome.
You despise, you despise, you despise . . .

Yet, I also despise this bitter labor through day and night,
Waken at midnight, the crescent moon still hangs high.
I despise the humidity of this island,
and those life-threatening insects and pestilence.
I despise this French battlefield’s rain and lake muddy,
and seeing day in and day out humanity’s casualty,
I despise sprawling in the trench day and night,
observing the fire and smoke densely covering the gray sky.
I despise these sounds of murderous gunfire,
and fear more of a bullet piercing my heart all over.
I despise the cries of hundreds of thousands of hungry civilians.
I am also unwilling to stab a knife into the heart of others to find my own outlet.
I also despise, despise, despise . . .
The fear of bright red blood, rancid corpses — I despise it all!
I tell you, I want to go home!

You wish for your lover — me —- to return home,
And hear me happily cry out “brother”, “sister”, or “mom”.
Hence I plead with you to immediately buy a national bond.
One hundred dollar note of national bond,
It is the ticket to your dream paradise.
You may as well follow me and call out loudly to advertise:
“Buy! Buy! Buy!”
“National bond Buy!”
If you have some knowledge and experience,
You would not forsake this rare opportunity for earning interest —-
Seventy dollars to be traded for a hundred dollar —-
Your back and shoulder will not be as heavy as before the war ahead,
Only if you would participate in the sixth movement of this war debt,
If you would like to achieve the dream of my returning home for enjoyment.
Don’t forget this time of national bond movement.
Come, let’s buy another one hundred dollar note of debt of war!
Let’s welcome perpetual peace into this human world!