I Never Know How Poems Start

I never know how poems start.

我从来不知道诗歌是怎么诞生的。

Introduction My name is Michael Rosen, and I write poems. I do other things as well, like talking on the radio, and I also spend a lot of time visiting schools and talking to children about my poems. Sometimes I suggest that they can write in ways I do. I first started writing poems when I was about 16, and I've been doing it ever since. Poems come in many different shapes and sizes. They can sound as if all sorts of different people are speaking, and they can be about very different sorts of things. They can also be very, about the most awful and tragic things, or they can be full of silliness and nonsense, and all sorts in between.

前言 我叫迈克尔·罗森，是个写诗的人。 我也做别的工作，比如去电台做节目，我还会花很多时间 走访学校，给小朋友们讲我的诗歌。 有时候我会建议大家也可以试试用我的方法写诗。 我第一次写诗大概是16岁的时候，从那以后我就一直写诗。 诗歌有各种各样的形式和篇幅。读起来感觉就像是形形色色不同的 人在说话，内容也五花八门。它们可以是非常， 悲伤的沉重的故事，也可以充满傻气和无厘头的笑点， 还可以是介于两者之间的各种内容。

I never know how poems start. Sometimes it's something that I hear. Sometimes it's something I see. Sometimes it's something I remember. Sometimes it's something I imagine. Sometimes it's something I read. Sometimes it's some of these things all at the same time. A thing I've heard could be a sound like the screech of a seagull, or someone saying, I lost my tooth down the toilet.

我从来不知道诗歌是怎么诞生的。 有时候灵感来自于我听到的某句话。 有时候灵感来自于我看到的某样东西。 有时候灵感来自于我记起的某件往事。 有时候灵感来自于我幻想的某个场景。 有时候灵感来自于我读到的某段文字。 有时候灵感是以上好几种东西同时凑到一起的结果。 我听到的东西可能是海鸥的尖啸声，或是有人说， 我的牙掉马桶里啦。

A thing I've seen could be anything I think looks interesting, like how the back of my hand looks like a map, or an angry man at the bus stop. A thing I remember comes to me when I daydream, like remembering where I used to play or what my grandmother's house was like. A thing I imagine can also be part of a daydream where I say to myself, what if, like what if my cat ran away, or what if my foot went chopping? A thing I read can be a thought that comes to me as I read, like wondering what people in stories are thinking and remembering.

我看到的东西可以是任何我觉得有意思的事物，比如我的手背 看起来像张地图，或是公交站里正在发火的男人。 我记起的往事总是在我发呆的时候冒出来，比如想起我小时候常去玩的地方，或是 外婆家以前是什么样子的。 我幻想的内容也常常是我发呆的一部分，我会问自己，假如，比如假如 我的猫跑掉了怎么办，或是假如我的脚会砍东西会怎么样？ 我读到的内容能让我在阅读时冒出新想法，比如好奇故事里的人 都在想什么，又记着些什么事。

wrong We went on holiday with Mr. Wrong. Everything we said, he said was wrong. He asked us if night came before day, or day before night. We said that day came before night. He said wrong. So we said night came before day. He said wrong.

不对 我们和不对先生一起去度假。 不管我们说什么，他都说不对。 他问我们是不是黑夜比白天先到， 还是白天比黑夜先到。我们说 白天比黑夜先到。他说 不对。于是我们说黑夜比白天先 到。他说不对。

He asked us which came first, Sunday or Monday. We said Sunday. He said wrong. So we said Monday. He said wrong. He asked us if he was telling fibs. We said yes. He said wrong.

他问我们星期天和星期一哪个先到。我们说星期天。他说不对。于是我们说星期一。他说不对。 他问我们他是不是在撒谎。我们说是的。他说不对。