Translated by Ouyang Yu

in 1967
my dad went to an alien place
to begin his middle school career

every weekend
my dad managed to get home
and bring from home
things
to eat
salted vegetables and dry carrots
or pickled cucumbers

to prevent
his roommates from stealing them
my dad
had a sound strategy
every time he opened his food
he'd first spit into it
a few mouthfuls of saliva

Shen Haobo is a Chinese poet based in Beijing who is often described as the leader of the Post-1970s Poets (poets born in the 1970s) and now edits the Chinese webzine xia ban shen (Lower Parts of the Body).