原文 

                                                             What Is Poetry?

                                                              by Eleanor Farjeon

                                                   What is Poetry? Who knows?

                                                   Not a rose, but the scent of the rose;

                                                   Not the sky, but the light in the sky;

                                                   Not the fly, but the gleam of the fly;

                                                   Not the sea, but the sound of the sea;

                                                   Not myself, but what makes me

                                                   See, hear, and feel something that prose

                                                   Cannot: and what it is, who knows?

        （不是因为翻译而翻译，而是因了埃莉诺·法杰恩对诗的理解。。。）

                                请欣赏无心剑译文：

                              诗为何物？

                                         埃莉诺·法杰恩

                                 诗为何物有谁知？

                                 不是玫瑰却芬芳，

                                 不是天空却明畅，

                                 不是流萤却闪亮，

                                 不是大海却激荡，

                                 不是自我却品尝

                                 超越散文之景象！

                                 诗为何物有谁知？

                                  请欣赏岩子译文： 

                                       诗为何物？

                                         埃莉诺·法杰恩

                              不是玫瑰却玫瑰般芳菲

                              不是天空却天空般明亮

                              不是流萤却流萤般光辉

                              不是大海却大海般激荡

                              不是自我却让自我感知

                              视之听之散文所不能之：

                              诗为何物？

                           请欣赏宛城卧龙译文

          何谓诗歌？


                     埃莉诺 法杰恩


          何谓诗歌，又有谁能去知晓
          不是玫瑰，却有玫瑰的芳香
          不是蓝天，却在蓝天中闪亮
          不是流萤，却有流萤的闪光
          不是大海，却有大海的声响
          不是自我，却让我看到听到
          又感觉到，散文没有的景象
          何谓诗歌，又有谁能去知晓


                  宛城卧龙译于2010年11月27日上午11时

                                吴茂华译文

                                     诗为何物？

                                  埃莉诺·法杰恩 (英）

                                 诗为何物？

                           不是玫瑰却玫瑰般芳菲；
                              不是天空却天空般明净；
                              不是流萤却流萤般闪亮；
                              不是大海却大海般激荡；
                              不是自我却内心般感知。
                              视之听之美文所不能之：
                              诗为何物？

 真如岩子所说，不是因为翻译而翻译，而是因了埃莉诺·法杰恩对诗的理解。