Two Poems translated by S. Ye Laird at Better Than Starbucks

Two Poems translated by S. Ye Laird at Better Than Starbucks
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The permanent link, if you'd like to post it in your records or online, is:
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https://www.betterthanstarbucks.org/poetry-translations

其实江南真有烟雨

假定早于确定,不争

成就事实,犹如出自身心的赞赏

自古难以承诺,专心于江南

令烟雨钻心,

而外界的一切

都会以起伏与迷离蜿蜒进入

内在的另一切,

山被水缓慢地捅通,痛失了

痛感,而它们都能端着

必须端着的绿,

那里遮掩的不是习惯而是道途。

Belief soaked with Southern provincial smoky rain

What is presumed comes first then what is known; no doubt

facts were derived, possibly by appreciative views

from one perspective.

Since all we know can’t be promised, thus I devote the self

to the southern provinces;

Let its misty waterfalls enliven inside,

against everything outwardly,

as they rise and fall, elusive but surely

to become part of the other whole;

Mountains opened up by slow flowing of waters, suddenly let go

of nostalgia, yet they all endure

what must be carried on — the springing green;

There, what is hidden isn’t the habits of its inhabitants

but the necessary pathways.

黑曜石 Obsidian

地底下冒出来的,从没有副产品。

深处的爆发将它翻出来,等待定义,

它不是岩石,而是玻璃。内在的

热与红无法那么快地屈从于冷,它的内核

未能改变,自然地向人类的感官和虚荣展示

雪花怎么生长到黑色的坚硬中,令它带点灰。

它与熔岩为邻而没有名字,怎能声称孤独?

是的,它不过是粘性较低,而显得有点怯弱,

不会结晶。可水能阻止它切割分子;犹如

阿帕契女人的泪珠碎了、撒进大地,又冒出芽儿,

它们的颜色在夜风中变,顺风逆风也有不同,

那靠着空气传播的哭声只有狼曾经听闻。

如今,它既然在地上,它便与风相爱,

也喜欢上了蜥蜴、月亮和星星的爱抚。

OBSIDIAN

Outpouring from earth’s kernel, there

never was any by-product.

Rupture of the deep, uphowling

substance, awaits definition.

It is not a rock but glass; inside

elemental heat and radiance

resisting abruptly cooling atmospheres.

Its unhinged core remained,

pleading naturally the likeness

to mankind's emotion and vanity.

How snow white congealed in its black

hardness, turning a bit grayish.

It came from a landscape full of igneous rocks;

it can’t be a lonely thing.

Yes, it has low viscosity; thus it seems

weak and immune to crystallization.

Yet water prevented its molecules from breaking down;

as if Apache women's teardrops,

sipping into the earth,

brought forth new seasons.

Their color changes with the night breeze,

differing with the to and fro of the ambient wind.

They resonate with the air; nameless,

their cry was heard by wolves.

Now it lies on the ground

and might as well make love to the wind.

It also takes the likeness of lizards,

agape at the Moon and Stars.

Poet 范静哗 Jinghua Fan is a native of Jiangsu province, PRC. His research interests include Modern and Contemporary Poetry in Chinese, Translation Theory, Practice, and Teaching, and Modern Chinese and English Literature and Literary Theory. He blogs at http://poetrychinese.blogspot.com.

Translator S. Ye Laird is a native of Shanghai, PRC. Her research interests include Machine learning and comparative readings on religious and legal studies, with emphasis on cross-cultural conflicts. She blogs at https://www.patreon.com/allthingsgo.