2 Poems by Zeng Zhuo

The Tree at the Cliff

An unknown strange wind

Has blown the tree thither —

To the end of the plain

At the cliff of the deep vale

It listens to the noises of the distant forest

And the songs of the rivulets in the deep dale

It stands there by itself

Looking lonely and stubborn

Its crooked trunk has

Captured the shape of the wind

It seems to be falling into the bottomless vale

While assuming the posture of wings spreading¼

                                                                                                       1970

悬崖边的树

不知道是什么奇异的风

将一棵树吹到了那边——

平原的尽头

临近深谷的悬崖上

它倾听远处森林的喧哗

和深谷中小溪的歌唱

它孤独地站在那里

显得寂寞而又倔强

它的弯曲的身体

留下了风的形状

它似乎即将倾跌进深谷里

却又像是要展翅飞翔……

1970年

Afar I Look

When I am young

In the ocean of life, I occasionally raise my head

To look afar at the age of sixty, like looking at

A port in a remote country

Through rains and storms, waves and billows

Now I have arrived; sometimes I turn back

To look at my lost youth, like looking afar

At my native place enveloped in misty fog

                                          1982

我遥望

当我年轻的时候

在生活的海洋中，偶尔抬头

遥望六十岁，像遥望

一个远在异国的港口

经历了狂风暴雨，惊涛骇浪

而今我到达了，有时回头

遥望我年轻的时候，像遥望

迷失在烟雾中的故乡

1982年

  

About the author:

Zeng Zhuo (1922—2001), his original name was Zeng Qingguan, and his ancestral place is Wuhan City of Hubei Province. In 1940, he co-edited with his friends a series of books entitled Poetry Land for Cultivation, and in 1947, he graduated from university. From 1950 on, he has been a teacher at Hubei College of Education and Wuhan University. Beginning from 1961, he assumed the post of a playwright at Wuhan Troupe of Modern Drama. He is an important member of the “July School”. His main works include: poem collections such as Door, The Tree at the Cliff, The Song of An Old Mariner, and many collections of prose and poetic criticism.

（Tr. by Zhang Zhizhong）

作者简介：

曾卓（1922—2001），原名曾庆冠，湖北武汉人。1940年与友人编辑出版《诗垦地》丛刊。1947年大学毕业。1950年起，曾在湖北省教育学院、武汉大学任教。1961开始，任武汉话剧院编剧。“七月派”主要成员之一。主要作品有：诗集《门》、《悬崖边的树》、《老水手的歌》及散文集、诗论集多种。