I chose the cat
I placed my cold, white, thin fingers in the warm folds of catskin and hair but the cat spat and spoke dicer’s oaths, projecting catspittle through a small red toothless space, keeping one yellow pirate eye fixed on the hem of my nightdress. I nestled beside the agitated beast. ‘Sylvia’. They called through the door. ‘Sylvia sleep well. Sleep well Sylvia’. In the night, I floated to distant lands on a raft of catpelts, jigsawed together at the legs. The cats loaned me their skins, licked clean for travelling with little rasping, raspberry coloured tongues. Over Istanbul, I had a most unfortunate incident with a troublesome wine stopper; I hoped the ruby stain would wash out. I dreamed of a pure and convincing confession I knew even I could not believe. The cats appeared as hairless angels, spirited upwards beside the pelt raft to chide me for my clumsiness. I covered the little pink shrivellings one by one with their own deserving fur and tumbled to earth through the icy, white featherings of altocirrus, like Icarus.
我选择猫 i chose the cat
我把冰冷、苍白、纤细的手指放在猫皮和毛发的温暖褶皱里，但这猫吐了口口水，还像玩骰子的一样赌咒发 誓，通过一个无牙的红色小空隙喷射出猫尿，一只黄色海盗眼盯着我的睡裙边缘。我偎依在这只烦躁的野兽身 边。“西尔维娅”，他们透过门叫道，“西尔维娅，好好睡。睡个好觉，西尔维娅。”夜里，我乘着猫皮木筏漂向 遥远的土地，猫腿嵌合成拼图。猫们借给我它们的皮毛，用小小的发出锉磨声的红色覆盆子舌头舔干净，使之 适合旅行。飞过伊斯坦布尔时，我遇到了一个麻烦的酒塞，非常不幸；我希望那红色的污渍能够洗掉。我梦到 一次纯粹而令人信服的忏悔，我知道甚至是我自己也不相信。猫们以无毛天使的形象出现，在皮筏旁边生机勃 勃地向上飞升，责备我的笨拙。我一个个地用它们应得的皮毛把这些小小的粉色皱褶盖住，然后像伊卡洛斯一 样，穿过冰冷的、白色的卷积云羽毛，向大地坠落。
Romit Berger: “I am a graphic designer. I met my very dear friend, Helen Pletts, in Prague, several years ago. Helen’s inspiration has led my graphic design career into that magical realm which combines illustration and poetry, and our creative wings continue to connect our souls through time and distance.”
Mǎ Yongbo 马永波 has 9 poetry collections. Chinese scholar, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, focused on translating and teaching Anglo-American poetry and prose including Dickinson, Whitman, Stevens, Pound, Williams and Ashbery. His translation of Moby Dick, has sold over half a million copies. Collected Poems of Mǎ Yongbo (four volumes, Eastern Publishing Centre, 2024) comprising 1178 poems, celebrate 40 years of writing poetry.马永波出生于1964年，已出版了7本诗集。他是一位专注于翻译和教授英 美诗歌和散文的中国学者，包括狄金森、惠特曼、史蒂文斯、庞德、威廉斯和阿什贝利的作品。他翻译的《白 鲸》销量已超过50万册。他在南京理工大学任教。《马永波诗歌总集》（四卷本，东方出版中心，2024年）共 收录1600首诗，庆祝他诗学探索40周年。
Helen Pletts: (www.helenpletts.com) Shortlisted 5 times for Bridport Poetry Prize 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, and 2024, twice longlisted for Rialto Nature & Place 2018 and 2022, longlisted for Ginkgo Prize 2019, longlisted for National Poetry Competition 2022. 2nd prize Plaza Prose Poetry 2022-23. Shortlisted Plaza Prose Poetry 2023-24. Working closely with Ma Yongbo since Feb 2024.