Monday 5 May 2014

2 Poems by Xu Zhimo

Goodbye to Cambridge

Gently, gently I now go
Just as gently, gently came I;
Gently I wave my hand,
  To the western cloud I say goodbye.

That golden willow at the riverside
  Is a bride in the setting sun;
Her beautiful figure reflected in waves
  As ripples in my heart run.

Floatinghearts on the silt,
  Swaying in water, richly grown;
In the mild ripples of the Cam River,
  Among these plants I’m willing to be one!

That pool in the shade of an elm
  Is not a spring, but a rainbow
Scattered among the floating algae,
  Just a rosy dream deposited low.

Looking for that dream? With a pool,
  I punt slowly to the greener of green grass;
Loaded with a boat of starlight,
  I heartily sing in the brilliance of star-mass.

But I can’t heartily sing,
  Soundlessness is the departing lay;
The summer insects become silent for me,
  Silence at Cambridge tonight does stay!

Gently, gently I now go,
Just as gently, gently came I;
I wave with my sleeves,
  Without taking a cloud nearby.


Fortuitousness

Being a cloud in the sky
On your heart lake I cast my figure.
You don’t have to wonder.
Nor should you cheer—
In an instant I will disappear.

On the dark sea we encounter
In different directions of our own we steer.
It’s nice for you to remember.
But you’d better forget the luster
That we’ve been devoted to each other.

About the author:
Xu Zhimo (1897—1931), originally named Xu Zhangxu, was a native of Haining, Zhejiang Province. He went to study in Britain in 1920. After his return to China in the following year, he was a professor at Peking University, Qinghua University, and Nanjing Central University. In 1926, he co-sponsored Carving Poetry in Morning Newspaper with Wen Yiduo, Zhu Xiang and others. In 1928, he co-sponsored the monthly The Crescent with Hu Shi, Liang Shiqiu and others. On November 19th, 1931, he died in a air crash on his tour from Nanjing to Peiping (now Beijing). His major works include Poems of Zhimo, A Night in Florence, A Collection of Brave Tiger, and Wander as a Cloud. His Complete Poems of Xu Zhimo is known to the world.
                                                            (Tr. by Yang Xu)

[The editor's note:: the above work is selected from 300 New Chinese Poems (1917-2012), a Chinese-English college reader published by Poetry Pacific Press in October 2013.]


徐志摩
再别康桥

轻轻的我走了,
  正如我轻轻的来;
我轻轻的挥手,
  作别西天的云彩。

那河畔的金柳,
  是夕阳中的新娘;
波光里的艳影,
  在我的心头荡漾。

软泥上的青荇,
  油油的在水底招摇;
在康河的柔波里,
  我甘心做一条水草!

那榆荫下的一潭,
  不是清泉,是天上虹;
揉碎在浮藻间,
  沉淀着彩虹似的梦。

寻梦?撑一支长篙,
  向青草更青处漫溯;
满载一船星辉,
  在星辉斑斓里放歌。

但我不能放歌,
  悄悄是别离的笙箫;
夏虫也为我沉默,
  沉默是今晚的康桥!

悄悄的我走了,
  正如我悄悄的来;
我挥一挥衣袖
  不带走一片云彩。


偶然

我是天空里的一片云,
偶尔投影在你的波心──
你不必讶异,
更无须欢喜──
在转瞬间消灭了踪影。

你我相逢在黑夜的海上,
你有你的,我有我的,方向;
你记得也好,
最好你忘掉
在这交会时互放的光亮。


作者简介:
徐志摩(1897—1931),原名徐章垿,浙江海宁人。1920年赴英国留学,次年回国后历任北京大学、清华大学、南京中央大学教授。1926年与闻一多、朱湘等人创办《晨报•诗镌》。1928年与胡适、梁实秋等人创办《新月》月刊。1931年11月19日由南京赴北平途中,因飞机失事身亡。主要作品有:诗集《志摩的诗》、《翡冷翠的一夜》、《猛虎集》、《云游》等。另有译著多种以及《徐志摩诗全编》行世。

No comments:

Post a Comment