Once a Wife, Always a Mother

Poetry

Thousand Languages

Wendy Thompson

I was a wife
Who couldn’t cook

I was a mother
Who couldn’t swim

I was a wife
Who couldn’t fight

I was a mother
Who couldn’t look ___ in the eye

I was a wife
Who paid all the bills

I was a mother
Who couldn’t sleep through the night

I was a wife
Who acted like a man

I was a mother
Who couldn’t appreciate any man

I was a wife
Who was the hammer

I was a mother
Who was the captain and the ship

I was a wife
Who fucked so many men prior to getting married she lost count (I told him two)

I was a mother
Who was an ocean full of love

I was a wife
Who married a foreigner from 6.4627° N, 3.3997° E

I was a mother
Who lost her shape and looked like a front-facing little letter b

I was a wife
Who never had an orgasm before the age of 40

I was a mother
Who screamed at her children like they were crazy mother
fuckers wanting to fight at a BART station bus stop after 12 AM

I was a wife
Until

I was the victim’s mother

I was the petitioner

I was a person

I was a human

I was an animal

I was an object in the shape of a daughter’s wound at the edge of the world

I was a piece of non-biodegradable plastic in the middle of an albatross’s gut floating clean across the ocean

I was a broken thing to be used and discarded behind an apartment building dumpster (they think it was 2C that threw it away because they were always leaving trash out)

I was a cuss word thrown to the wind after church

I was a dating app profile

I was a limb

I was an orifice

I was someone else’s plaything

I was a middle-age man’s middle-age fuck buddy

I was alone

I am a mother

Eʼesdzáán sélį́į́’ dóó ahool’áa goo amá nishłį́į

Chris Hoshnic

Translator's Note

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
  Ak’oondí doo yinist’eesda

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
  Doo na’ashkǫ́ǫ́’da

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
  Doo ak’inéish’wo’ da’

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Doo’ _____ yooshʼį́in da’

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Doo bík’é goo’naashá daa

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
  Tł’éé’goo’ doo’ awóósh da’

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Haastóí bíná’aanish íísh’į́i’dee

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Nidi shee hastiin doo baa ahééh nisinda nít’éé’

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Doo bee atsidí naanish’liin

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Tó biyi naʼałbąąsii’igi doo’ naatʼáanii iish’íín’dee

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Haastóí láá biłda’shiisk’aa yoo ił’taa (Ł’áá éí naakí bił hosh’niih)

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Shí’jéí éí tónteel’igi áníłtsóh

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Tó’náán’diné sé’yii’ 6.4627° N, 3.3997° E

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Shi’neesk’ah góó shits’íís B yázhí nahalin

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Dízdiin yiháá góó háastá doo’shił hózhǫ́on’daa

Amá nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
Tł’éé’goo’ BART kǫ́’na’ałbąąsii náál’tłii di’ shá’ałchiní
bich’į́’hadeeshghaazh

E’esdzą́ą́ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’
‘Ákohgo ‘inda

Diyoolyéłígíí bii’má nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Na’ídíkidi nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Diné nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Bíla’ashdla’ii nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Naaldlooshii nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Nahasdzáán bitséé di shí ch’é’éh bí honiigai biyi’hooghan iish’láá

Naatsédlózii bíí ts’iis doo hináanii biyi tłʼiish áníní bí’joodáał’igí bąąh shił’átʼéego

Tsíílzéí’igí hooghan biné dée (2C bii’hooghan’igí bí tsʼiilzéí shił’nitsídaakees)

Áko tʼáá niniiʼjįʼ níyol bidáahgo shił’iyííłhan ńt’ę́ę́ sodizin bá hooghan bi’k’ehgᶖ́

Béésh bee hani’i bíí áłah néiidleehígíí nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Ats’áozla’ nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

Tsé bíyíʼ hoodzaago nít’éé’

Daané'é nít’éé’

Haastóí shił’ daané'é’igí nishłį́į́ nít’éé’

T’áá sáhi yishááł nít’éé’

Amá nishłį́í

Share This Diné Translation

一度是妻子，永远是母亲

Xiaoyan Fu

我曾是妻子
  不会做饭的妻子

我曾是母亲
  不会游泳的母亲

我曾是妻子
  不会吵架的妻子

我曾是母亲
  不会正视______的眼睛的母亲

我曾是妻子
  支付所有账单的妻子

我曾是母亲
  睡不了整觉的母亲

我曾是妻子
  表现得像个男人

我曾是母亲
  无法欣赏任何男人

我曾是妻子
  扮演锤子的角色

我曾是母亲
  既当船长又当船

我曾是妻子
  在婚前睡过记不清多少个男人（我跟他说的是两个）

我曾是母亲
  心中的爱能填满大海

我曾是妻子
  与来自北纬6.4627度，东经3.3997度的外国人结了婚

我曾是母亲
  身材走样，活像朝外的小写字母b

我曾是妻子
  在四十岁以前没有体验过性高潮

我曾是母亲
  对着她的孩子大喊大叫，仿佛他们是半夜想在BART车站[1]打架的混蛋

我曾是妻子
  直到

我曾是受害者的母亲

我曾是上诉请求离婚者

我曾是个人

我曾是人类

我曾是动物

我曾是一个世界边缘的物体，形状和女儿的伤口一样

我曾是一块不可降解的塑料，在信天翁的肚子里漂洋过海

我曾是一件用完坏掉的东西，被扔在幢公寓楼的垃圾桶后面（他们认为是2C的住客扔的，因为那家人总是不好好扔垃圾）

我曾是一句脏话，做完礼拜后被人丢在风里

我曾是约会软件上的一页个人简介

我曾是一根肢体

我曾是身体上的一个孔

我曾是别人的玩物

我曾是一个中年男人的中年炮友

我曾孤身一人

我是一个母亲

[1]译者注：BART是Bay Area Rapid Transit（湾区捷运）的缩写，是美国旧金山地区的城际交通系统。

Share This Chinese Translation

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