a new 9 tail twitch
In Chinese, the fox is 狐狸, hu-li and so 狐狸精, hu li jing, is a fox spirit. As a Western with a terrible grasp of Chinese I suppose I fall into a category of the sort of person fascinated with other people's religions and stories and yet completely ignorant of any deeper cultural meanings. I tried to translate the line "Chinese drawl," and came up with 从汉语的懒洋洋的说话态度 which my dictionary reads (literally) as "Chinese languid speech manner;" which sort of takes away from the fragmentary style I was looking for but is it ever really healthy to take anything literally?
Only nighthawks fly this high. Only small
pox scars this deep. I was looking for Hu
li jing, a new nine-tailed fox. Chinese drawl.
All fire storm shock. Fire shock me. Someone who
defies the norm. A new language. I want
a new tongue. Freedom's fluid. A note, blew
in a vacuum, will last forever. Haunt
struggling lips; a promise of what few
will hear. I want to hear. A whimper twang.
The last twitch of nine-tails. There is so much
I'll miss out; so many songs sung without
me. Let these words burn full formed. Words that sprang
silver-coated, full of myth. Words that touch
a fire, then flare, sputter doubt and burn-out.
Speaking of curious translations, this song by Dongqin, Na Yi Chang Feng Hua Xue Yue De Shi translates, roughly, as The Sentimental Writing of the Exploiting Classes … I am sure there is a highly interesting story behind the title, I just have no idea what it is.