To Kill A Mockingbird Poem by Zachary Huang

By Zachary Huang

You asked me to kill a bird
how can on him I lay my hand
He looks like a sparrow, just as innocent
He's had not any sorrow
Nor a mistake has he made

65 years ago*, billions of sparrows were sacrificed
Due to some misinformation
Many grain-eating pests came back
As a sad ecological confirmation

If you really need someone dead
Then just kill me instead
I would like to be the minus Jesus
Because I have committed many sins

Please leave alone that poor bird
He's never done anything bad
Except singing daily, like a mad
At least he is not a spy, you know**
For he has lived all his life
On that tree in your hole

2023.8.17 (Chinese version first, then I translated to English)

* In 1958 there was a movement in China to kill all sparrows because the government thought they were eating too much rice. Nearly all were killed in one year and the next year many pests came back because they lost one main natural enemy.

** recently the Chinese government has started another campaign to report any suspicious persons as 'spies'. The highest reward was 500,000 yuan (about 70,000 USD) .

杀死一只知更鸟

／北美蜂叔

你让我去杀死一只鸟
我怎么舍得
他的样子像一只无辜的麻雀
他没有忧愁，也没有犯错

65年前，亿万只麻雀
因为误会而被牺牲
就这样，回来了
很多吃粮食的害虫

如果你真的需要一个死者
那就杀死我吧
我愿意成为耶稣的反面
起码我有过不少的罪过

留下那只可怜的鸟儿
他除了唱歌，还从来没有过错
况且他也没有间谍的悬疑
一辈子都在你的树上生活

2023.8.17