惊闻牛汉先生仙逝，内心戚戚然。发先生三首诗作的英译，谨表追思怀念之情。在我看来，牛汉先生是真正的中国诗人之一。祝愿牛汉先生一路走好！

 

悼念一棵枫树

我想写几叶小诗，把你最后的绿叶保留下几片来。

——摘自日记

牛汉

湖边山丘上

那棵最高大的枫树

被伐倒了……

在秋天的一个早晨

 

几个村庄

和这一片山野

都听到了，感觉到了

枫树倒下的声响

 

家家的门窗和屋瓦

每棵树，每根草

每一朵野花

树上的鸟，花上的蜂

湖边停泊的小船

都颤颤地哆嗦起来……

是由于悲哀吗？

这一天

整个村庄

和这一片山野上

飘着浓郁的清香

 

清香

落在人的心灵上

比秋雨还要阴冷

 

想不到

一棵枫树

表皮灰暗而粗犷

发着苦涩气息

但它的生命内部

却贮蓄了这么多的芬芳

 

芬芳

使人悲伤

 

枫树直挺挺的

躺在草丛和荆棘上

那么庞大，那么青翠

看上去比它站立的时候

还要雄伟和美丽

伐倒三天之后

枝叶还在微风中

簌簌地摇动

 

叶片上还挂着明亮的露水

仿佛亿万只含泪的眼睛

向大自然告别

 

哦，湖边的白鹤

哦，远方来的老鹰

还朝着枫树这里飞翔呢

 

枫树

被解成宽阔的木板

一圈圈年轮

涌出了一圈圈的

凝固的泪珠

泪珠

也发着芬芳

 

不是泪珠吧

它是枫树的生命

还没有死亡的血球

 

村边的山丘

缩小了许多

仿佛低下了头颅

 

伐倒了

一棵枫树

伐倒了

一个与大地相连的生命

 

Mourning for a Maple Tree

I want to compose a few leaves of poems, so as to preserve the last green leaves from you. — from my diary

Niu Han

 

The tallest maple tree

On the lakeside massif

Is cut down …

In an autumnal morning

 

The nearby villages

And the boundless mountainous country

Have heard, have felt

The great collapsing noise of the maple tree

 

Doors, windows, and tiles on the roofs

Each tree, each blade of grass

Each wild flower

Birds on trees, bees on flowers

The lakeside boat in berth

Are all quivering and shivering …

Out of grief?

On this very day

The whole village

And the boundless mountainous country

Are suffused with luscious fragrance

 

The fragrance

Drops on people’s bottom of heart

More gloomy than autumn rain

 

It is unimaginable that

The bark of a maple tree

Is gray and rugged

Issuing bitter breath

While in its life within

There is so much storage of fragrance

 

Fragrance

Makes people sorrowful

 

The straight maple tree lies in prostration

On brambles and grasses

Bulky, verdant

Looking more beautiful and gigantic

Than its standing stature

Three days after its felling

The branches & leaves are still joggling and rustling

In the breeze

 

Bright dewdrops are still hanging on the leaves

Like millions of watery eyes

Bidding adieu to great nature

 

O, the lake-side white crane

O, the hawk from a faraway place

Are still soaring towards the maple tree

 

The maple tree

Is sawed into broad planks

On annual ring upon ring

Concreting teardrops are welling up

Circle after circle

And the teardrops

Give off fragrance

 

Teardrops only?

They are life of the maple tree

They are dying blood corpuscles

 

The village-side massif

Has dwindled a lot

As if lowering its head

 

Felled

Is a maple tree

Felled

Is a life in affinity with the earth

（张智中 译）

 

 

半棵树

牛汉

 

真的，我看见过半棵树

在一个荒凉的山丘上

 

像一个人

为了避开迎面的风暴

侧着身子挺立着

 

它是被二月的一次雷电

从树尖到树根

齐楂楂劈掉了半边

 

春天来到的时候

半棵树仍然直直地挺立着

长满了青春的枝叶

 

半棵树

还是一整棵树那样高

还是一整棵那样伟岸

 

人们说

雷电还要来劈它

因为它还是那么直那么高

雷电从远远的天边就盯住了它

1972年，咸宁

 

A Half Tree

Niu Han

 

Really, I have seen a half tree

Standing on a desolate massif

 

Like a person

Standing sideways

To avoid the head-on wind & storm

 

The tree was neatly cleaved

Into two halves by a February thunderbolt

From top to root

 

With the coming of sping

The half tree is still standing upright

Green with twigs and leaves

 

The half tree

Is still as tall as a whole tree

As gigantic in stature as a whole tree

 

It is said that

The thunderbolt is going to come at it again

Since it is still as straight and as tall as before

The thunderbolt takes aim at it from afar

Xianning, 1972

（张智中 译）

 

 

华南虎

牛汉

 

在桂林

小小的动物园里

我见到一只老虎。

 

我挤在人群之中

隔着两道铁栅栏

向笼里的老虎

张望了许久许久，

但一直没有瞧见

老虎斑斓的面孔

和火焰似的眼睛。

 

笼里的老虎

背对胆怯而绝望的观众，

安详地卧在一个角落，

有人用石块砸它

有人向它厉声呵斥

有人还苦苦劝诱

然而，它却一概不理！

 

又长又粗的尾巴

悠悠地在拂动，

哦，老虎，笼中的老虎，

你是梦见了苍苍莽莽的山林吗？

是屈辱的心灵在抽搐吗？

还是想用尾巴鞭击那些可怜而可笑的观众？

 

你的健壮的腿

直挺挺地向四方伸开，

我看见你的每个趾爪

全部都是破碎的，

凝结着浓浓的鲜血！

你的趾爪

是被人捆绑着

活活地铰掉的吗？

还是由于悲愤

你用同样破碎的牙齿

把它们和着热血咬碎的……

 

我看见铁笼里

灰灰的水泥墙壁上

有一道一道的血淋淋的沟壑

像闪电那般耀眼刺目！

 

我终于明白……

我羞愧地离开了动物园，

恍惚之中听见一声

石破天惊的咆哮，

有一个不羁的灵魂

掠过我的头顶

腾空而去，

我看见了火焰似的斑纹

和火焰似的眼睛！

 

South China Tiger

Niu Han

 

In the small zoo

Of Guilin

I have seen a tiger.

 

Standing amid the crowded spectators

I watch the caged tiger

Through two rail fences

For quite a long long time,

Without seeing

The gorgeous countenance of the tiger

And his fiery eyes.

 

The caged tiger,

With his back towards the timid and desperate audience,

Is lying in a corner serenely.

Somebody hits him with stones

Somebody shouts at him brutally

And somebody tries to coax him

However, he ignores!

 

The long and thick tail

Is whisking with ease.

Tiger, O, the caged tiger,

Is it that you dream of the verdant and luxuriant mountain forest?

Is it that your humiliated heart is twitching?

Or is it that you want to scourge the pitiable and laughable spectators?

 

Your sturdy legs

Are spreading out in all directions,

I see that all of your toes

Are broken,

And coated with blood!

Are your toes

Cut off from your feet

By binding you up?

Or is it out of rage

That you bite them into bloody shreds

With the same broken teeth

 

I see in the iron cage

On the gray walls of cement

There are bloody gullies after bloody gullies

Which are dazzling like lightning!

 

It dawns on me finally

Shamefully I left the zoo;

In a trance I heard

A snarl which is welkin-shaking;

An unruly spirit

Runs across my head

To fly on high;

I have seen the fiery streaks

And the fiery eyes!

（张智中 译）