Fishing《钓鱼》

Fishing

There is a dead tree standing alone
on the top of the mountain.

Over the still water of the lake, a boat
comes. Quietly, its motor is running.

Fly your fishing pole as far as you can, then
stick it onto the side of the boat and wait.

There are lots of beers, it doesn't matter
if you get drunk, in which case

just lie down on the deck, bathing
in the sunshine, and have a good sleep.

The only guy has to stay sober is the one
at the helm. And he will follow the sonar

signal to get us to the fish. When we do
catch fish, we will put them back to water.

You have to know the key is to be somewhere
far away from the city, having a chance

to stay with the nature, and relax.
And we all know when we leave,

everything here will go back
to its normal peace.

And the dead tree will be still standing
on the top of the mountain.


钓鱼

山顶有一棵枯树
独立。平静的湖面，

一艘小艇驶来，
马达在悄悄地轰鸣。

使劲儿，把鱼线抛得远远的，
把鱼杆插在艇舷，

然后静等。啤酒有的是，
喝醉了也无关紧要，

只管倒在甲板上，阳光浴，
可以痛痛快快地

睡上它一觉。只要
掌舵的老兄保持清醒，

跟着声纳的信号去
追踪鱼群。反正钓到了鱼

也会放回去。
要紧的是远离城市，

回到大自然的怀抱，
放松身心。

我们离去时，
一切又会恢复宁静。

山上的那棵枯树
会依旧独立。

(2007-02-09)

The Village at Twilight is about to Light up by Liu Cheng

刘诚 《暮色里的村庄就要点灯 》

她穿戴朴素神情安详
站立在村庄的外围
她以村庄为墙，为一幅画的背景
静静地看着山那面
河流的产生地和经过地
终生也不能到达
村子里的陈年旧事 已经
完全不能将她打动
她的青春已逝，它们就
失落在来时的路上
现在她已经抵达生活庄严的高地
和两座山峰站在一起
她不知道自己已经是一首诗里的主角
她不知道自己将被画家的眼睛捕捉
成为一幅名画的亮点
她背靠村庄感到幸福，而幸福是
安静的,幸福只在于对往事的怀想：
暮色里的村庄就要点灯
暮色里一些沉默无语的人
正在回到家中


The Village at Twilight is about to Light up
by Liu Cheng

Like a picture on a wall, the village is
her background. Composed in a plain outfit,
she stands at its outskirt and quietly
looks beyond the mountains, where
the headwaters and river basin are,
the place impossible to get to in this life time.
Those old stories of the village
have stopped touching her.
Her youth is gone, lost
on her way here. Now, standing
between two peaks, she has arrived
at this stately plateau in life.
She does not know herself being a heroine
in an epic, nor to be captured by the eyes
of an artist as highlight on a masterpiece.
With the village as her background, she feels happy.
Serene happiness. Thinking about the past with affection:
the village at twilight is about to light up.
In the twilight, there are people
silently coming home.

(Translated by Mario Li)

3 poems by Mu Xiaohe

穆晓禾诗选英译三首
3 poems by Mu Xiaohe from Selected Poems of China Poet

穆晓禾，网名乡下，70后。诗写者，期刊写手，也不时地为报纸副刊添加一些花边文字。重要作品诗歌集《跋涉》、《歌者》和《玫瑰园打开了窗口》，另有长篇手机小说《窗口》和长篇青春小说《狩猎》于07年初交稿。

Mu Xiaohe, poet and freelance writer, has three books of poetry, Trekking, The Singer and The Open Window of the Rose Garden. He also has two novels, Window and Hunting, under publication.

==========

《方言》

那些年
老是做梦
做同一个梦
那棵被移植的树
在故乡
听不懂我们的方言
枯萎郁闷
那些年
每一棵树都明白
在梦中
大家说的
都是普通话

Dialect

those years
I kept having dreams
of a same dream
the tree
transplanted to our village
could not understand our dialect
withering with depression
those years
every single tree understood
in my dreams
that we all speak
the standard speech

==========

《那个杯子》

那个杯子
注满水或别的什么
才显示它的意义
于是 我不断地
加水
加茶
加糖
加咖啡
加更多的东西
显示它的价值
于是 我不断地
抽掉咖啡
抽掉糖
抽掉茶
抽掉水
抽掉更多的东西
最终 一个人
拿走了那个杯子

That Cup

that cup
only when filled up with water or something else
will show its significance
so I kept
adding water
adding tea
adding sugar
adding coffee
and adding more stuff
to show its significance
so I kept
taking out coffee
taking out sugar
taking tea
taking out water
and taking out more stuff
then finally someone
took that cup away


==========

《举灯的孩子》

我老是做梦
梦见 一个孩子
举著油灯行走
这个孩子很是奇怪
梦里没有太阳
没有月亮
没有昼夜之分
我却梦见
举灯的孩子
和自己的影子对话
许多围观的人
像看怪物一样
不明白
他把油灯
从左手交到右手
从右手交到左手

The Child Holding a Light

I keep on dreaming
of a child holding a light
walking
this child is very strange
there is no sun in the dream
no moon
no days and nights
but I dream
of the child holding a light
speaking to my shadow
many people are speculating
as if watching monsters
without any understanding
he pass the light
from the left hand to the right
from the right hand to the left

(Translated by Mario Li)

Congruence

Congruence

The likeness of the correspondence between things
is conic. The cone shaped bear, I guess, is giving us
the inflected forms with help from summons by sorcery.

Pretending the ignorance of wrongdoings, the connoisseur
adds some suggestions that the matter related to marriage
drafted for military services is declared sacred.

Send an agent for sale, to soothe the grief. Behind
the closed door of the cabinet under control. Drink some
clear soup would be in harmony with your spouse.

It’s very noticeable if you are in the police force.
In an amazed dismay, explain or interpret to the consul.
Try to make it a perfect current issues.

Express your contempt without any refrain
to prevent the event that possibly would happen
by twisting the contour of the illegal goods.

(2007-02-04)

Wordsworth Revelation

Congruence

The Fisherman

The Fisherman
by Liu Zongyuan

At night, by the rock on west bank, the fisherman sleeps.
In the morning, he gets water from river and use bamboo for fire.
When the sun is up and the smoke clears, he is long gone.
Over the greenness of mountain and river, audible is the sound of scull.
Looking back at the sky while going downstream,
He sees the carefree clouds chasing each other over the rock.

(Translated by Mario Li @ 2007-02-03)


(唐) 柳宗元
【漁翁】

漁翁夜傍西岩宿，
曉汲清湘燃楚竹。
煙銷日出不見人，
欸乃一聲山水綠。
回看天際下中流，
岩上無心云相逐。