CAI TIANXIN In the ocean of the world 1 We swim in the ocean of the world our daytime half submerged in the water our nighttime half floating on the surface 2 From the balcony, what have you seen? spring sailing to another harbour here, there, often changing course 3 The bridge on the overpass is solid the white sail, the red sail collide with it and shatter in the dusk 4 We swim in the ocean of the world death an enticing flag on top of an unattainable mast Hangzhou, 1991 Page 1 of 23
我们在世界的海洋上游泳 1 我们在世界的海洋上游泳白天的一半没入水中夜晚的一半浮出水面 2 在阳台上, 你看见什么了吗? 春天正驶向另一个码头这里, 那里, 不时改变着航向 3 立交桥是坚定的白色的帆, 红色的帆在一个黄昏撞得粉碎 4 我们在世界的海洋上游泳死亡是面诱人的旗帜悬挂在不可企及的桅杆上方 1991, 杭州 Page 2 of 23
Sunlight The sun is a mango. Cut open, it's the day. Left uncut, the evening. We swallow sunlight Making strong muscles. While we sleep Sunlight flows into our blood Travels throughout our body. On its journey it meets Another piece of sunlight. Hangzhou, 1989 Translated from the Chinese by James Booze and John Rosenwald Page 3 of 23
阳 光 太阳是一只芒果切开就是白天不切开就是夜晚我们吞吃阳光强壮了肌肉而当我们安寝阳光汇入了血液在我们的身体里旅行它没有停歇又遇上了另一片阳光 1989, 杭州 Page 4 of 23
Poem about fish I like to think of cars as words. It's easy to change the roots of words. Make a U-turn, for example, and you will find an adjective. People bump into each other on the freeway sometimes creating totally new sentences. If you drive a car into the Pacific the sea water will know how to refine it. When you swim out of the car you will instantly come across a poem about fish. California, 1993 Translated from the Chinese by James Booze Page 5 of 23
关于鱼的诗 我喜欢把汽车看作单词单词容易改变词性比如打一个 U 弯就可以获得形容词它们相互撞击, 在高速公路上有时会产生全新的句子把车开进太平洋吧海水知道如何润色我们侧身游出车门顷刻发现一首关于鱼的诗 1993, 加利福尼亚 Page 6 of 23
The river of my mind I like to stand before you and let the light of your forehead shine upon the river of my mind Your luxuriant hair scatters over the riverbanks like villages its fragrance floats on the wind When I move closer the small boat of your nose swiftly turns away Hangzhou, 1991 心灵的水面 我喜欢在你面前让你额头的灯光映照我心灵的水面 那束亮丽的秀发如村庄散落河岸芳香随风飘溢 当我俯身向下你鼻梁的船只倏然远去 1991, 杭州 Page 7 of 23
Overnight boat 1 She sits quite still arms folded into an isosceles quadrilateral fascinating as a riddle 2 When she lifts her head her eyes under her brown hair are like two fresh and tender grapes which I devour greedily 3 Her beautiful leg stretches like a motionless pendulum the sea s waves swell and my sleep evaporates 4 She smiles fleetingly revealing two lines of teeth like a pomegranate suspended open in the air Aegean Sea, 1999 Page 8 of 23
夜航 1 她端坐不动双臂怀抱谜一样诱人的等腰四边形 2 当她抬起头那棕色发架下两颗鲜嫩的葡萄迅速被我吞吃 3 美腿舒展仿佛停滞的钟摆海浪在增高睡意在减少 4 嫣然一笑露出两行牙齿犹如开裂的石榴悬浮在空气中 1999, 爱琴海 Page 9 of 23
Niagara Falls Above the blue, white. Surrounded by blue, white, like death wallowing in illusions. Birds with more feathers than tourists hair. Earlier than lovers lips, the birds lips kiss the curtain of rain. Relaxed, I release names into the water. They float off as night falls. A pale sun shivers. One step closer to death. Thousands of icy hands brush the nape of my neck. New York-Ontario, 1994 Translated from the Chinese by John Rosenwald 尼亚加拉瀑布 蓝色之上的白色被蓝色包围的白色像沉溺于梦幻的死亡 鸟的羽毛多于游人的发丝鸟的嘴唇比情侣的嘴唇更早触及云母的雨帘 我随意说出几个名字让它们从水上漂走和黑夜一起降临 一枚失血的太阳颤抖了向死亡再进一步一千只冰凉的手伸入我的后颈项 1994, 纽约 - 安大略 Page 10 of 23
The reading A gong is struck but not for the harvest season a pianist in a short-sleeved shirt brandishes his arms after they get the audience s full attention the hostess speaks in a measured tone But we live at the other end of the rainbow dry our clothes on the trees of the Milky Way Perhaps we have no words to say to the Earth we ride away on the horses of the Brandenburg Gate Berlin, 2004 朗诵 铜锤敲响并不意味着丰收季节的来临那穿短袖衬衫的钢琴师挥舞着双臂在听众的感官全部打开之后女主持用一种委婉的语调说话 可我们住在彩虹桥的另一头把洗净的衣服晾在银河树的枝桠上或许我们对地球已无话可说各自驾着布兰登堡门顶上的马车离去 2004, 柏林 Page 11 of 23
The highest pleasure Let them travel, the guests the beautiful moth with golden spots the mole with bright red paws the shrubbery blooming with morning glory the stream with its bubbling sound and the green grass rippling behind Somebody paints syrup on a tree Lot s wife looks back and suddenly changes into a pillar of salt Night does not know night s own melody loneliness does not know the marvel of loneliness the highest pleasure is outside of time California, 1993 最高乐趣 请客人们旅行吧美丽的金斑蛾鼹鼠腓红的手 开蜡花的灌木丛小溪的喧响之流青草在身后起伏不定 人们在树上涂抹糖浆罗得之妻在逃离时回望顷刻化为一根盐柱 夜晚不知道夜晚的吟唱孤独不知道孤独的美妙没有时间的最高乐趣 1993, 加利福尼亚 Page 12 of 23
At water s edge Dusk is approaching. Thousands of cold crows gather above the lake. The temperature drops to the top of a nearby hill, the sunset in the west vanishing in shrubbery. At water s edge, I sing in a low voice, imagine lapping the water with my tongue until stars appear, and the words of the song, and the lines of tears. Hangzhou, 1991 在水边 黄昏来临, 犹如十万只寒鸦, 在湖上翻飞 ; 而气温下降, 到附近的山头, 像西沉的落日消失在灌木丛中 我独自低吟浅唱, 在水边, 用舌头轻拍水面, 溅击浪花 直到星星出现, 在歌词中, 潸然泪下 1991, 杭州 Page 13 of 23
V Lake Titicaca When we were at the Lima airport The sky was covered with dark clouds Now we re in the air The flight map shows Cuzco on the left We can't see the blue sky only the dark blue lake If old man Yu was here Who could move rocks and soil The water of the lake would hang in the air Powerful as an Antarctic glacier April 2016, Lima - La Paz 的的喀喀湖 在利马候机时天空已乌云密布 库斯科在左侧仅在航路图上显现 看不见蓝色的天空只见到深蓝的湖水 假如真的有愚公搬走那些岩石和泥土 湖水会悬于空中威力胜过南极的冰川 4/2016 利马 - 拉巴斯 Page 14 of 23
Boston B is the three bridges connecting both sides surrounded by a clear bay O is the ocean, when the tide rises bringing with it sea shells and young people S is the sky, almost pure blue With only a tiny cloud bringing dust from far away T the number of times I visited here no more or less than that, just three O is the ocean again, at low tide draining always pearls and knowledge N is where my name ends and where No begins refusal being an instinctive human need June 2011, Providence - Boston Page 15 of 23
波士顿 B 是三座桥梁连接两岸 被一个清澈的海湾填充 O 是海洋, 潮涨时分 带来的是贝壳和青春 S 是天空, 几乎一片纯蓝 惟有一撮云, 携来远方尘埃 T 是我造访她的次数 不多不少, 刚好三回 O 还是海洋, 潮退时分 遗落的是珍珠和知识 N 是我的名字, 两记尾声 拒绝是人类本能的需要 6/2011, 波士顿 - 普罗维登斯 Page 16 of 23
Distant places I m always attracted by distant places, Always attracted by floating scenery Only when the bird circles the rice-field Do i notice its golden colour. Only when the wind blows over And rattles the peach tree by my side, Do I find the shadow of its branches graceful. Only when the sun shines fiercely on my face, Do i find that the vineyard greener than the grass, In the distance colours are veiled But all the more enchanting. Lavigny, 2007 远方 总是被远方吸引总是被移动的风景吸引只有当鸟儿回旋在稻田之上才注意到那一片金黄只有当风儿吹过摇响身边的那棵桃树才发现它的枝丫影子绰约只有当阳光猛烈地照射到脸上才发现葡萄园的绿色浓于青草远方的色泽暗淡下来但它仍然十分迷人 2007, 拉芬尼 Page 17 of 23
South Indian Garden A squirrel s tail brushes the window sill. A plume falls from the sky. Insects sing under the palm trees drowning the noise of the market nearby. A blue peacock brings news from the North. People bathe in the Ganges washing away selfish motives and desires, while the trunks of the elephants curl. I have never been so close to animals, living together I can see my heart more clearly now than during those long nocturnal flights. Bangalore, 2003 Translation into English Sudeep Sen 南印度花园 松鼠的尾巴闪过窗台一片羽毛飘零在空中棕榈树下昆虫的鸣叫淹没了附近市井的喧闹 蓝孔雀带回北方的消息沐浴的人们浸泡在恒河里不停地洗涤私念和欲望大象的鼻子层层卷曲 我从未如此亲近地与动物们生活在一起比天空中那些漫漫的长夜更能观照自己的内心 2003, 班加罗尔 Page 18 of 23
Variations on a Winter s Day 1 Clouds Those white supernatural holy bodies I have seen with my own eyes how they dissolve into the blue They are a stretch of summer beach in Florida a jutting crag in a Colorado canyon or simply a body that lets me blindly fall in 2 Music Between the trees and the houses I hear the early morning ocean slowing down The sun leans into the air to capture Something that cannot be captured 3 Courtyard The green lawn sparkling with drops of dew is divided by a footpath of white sand the yellow oak leaves fallen there across the legendary courtyard are the colour of a Mondrian painting in Amsterdam 4 Fan-tailed bird A passing long-tailed bird rests on the roof steps lightly with feathers of incomparable beauty Another night, hidden behind me She gazed at me solemn and sacred like an emerald sky gazing at the ocean while the ocean gazes at the moon s shadow 5 A girl A night of long fingernails a pair of eyes blown away by the wind atop the bridge of your nose I discover Hawaii Fresno, 1993 Translated from the Chinese by Kuo-ch ing Tu and Robert Backus Page 19 of 23
冬日的变奏 1. 云彩 那些白色的超凡入圣的天物我曾亲眼看见它们溶化在蓝天里它们是佛罗里达夏季的一片海滩是科罗拉多峡谷中的一块崖石或只是一个躯体让我盲目地坠入 2. 音乐 我看见树木与房舍之间早晨的大海缓慢下来太阳倾身在空气里捕捉那无法捕捉到的东西 3. 天井 那片闪耀着露珠的绿色草坪被几条白色的小径分隔橡树的叶子散落其中来自阿默斯福特的蒙得里安从传说的天井里走过 4. 扇尾鸟 一只过路的扇尾鸟栖息在屋顶上轻捷的脚步, 美丽无比的羽毛又一个夜晚潜伏在我的身后她凝望着我庄严神圣犹如碧空凝望着大海, 大海凝望着月影 5. 女子 长长的指甲之夜一双被风吹散了的眼睛我在你的鼻梁上发现了火奴鲁鲁 1993, 弗雷斯诺 Page 20 of 23
Every cloud has its own name The plane passes through thick clouds Shakes up and down, left and right Into time extending endlessly Since we have chosen the sky We should sacrifice our bodies Because every cloud has its own name We can map the clouds Measure the distance between them And paint them four different colors Our future is like that The hardships of life Are as infinite as the sky Page 21 of 23
每一片云都有它的名字 飞机穿越厚厚的云层 上下颠簸左右摇晃 时间无穷无尽地延伸 既然我们选择了天空 就应该把自己的身体献出 每一片云都有它的名字 我们可以把它们描画出来 标出大小和相互间的距离 再添上四种不同的颜色 我们的未来之路也是如此 天空有多么辽阔 人生就有多么曲折 2013, 洛杉矶 - 上海 Page 22 of 23
The Heart of a Poet a glimmer of light appears suddenly in the darkly clouded sky giving the lake a bluish tinge. the heart of a poet should be like this. after pushing aside the fog of sadness, it opens a window in the dark. Lavigny, 2007 诗人的心 一片些微的亮光突然在乌云密布的天空出现给湖水添加了一丝蓝色 诗人的心也理应如此拨开忧愁的迷雾之后在黑暗中打开一扇窗子 2007, 拉芬尼 Page 23 of 23