A Dream Of Death, Poem by Luo Zhihai

★ A Dream Of Death

☆ by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

WHERE shall we sail to-day? '- Thus said, methought,
A voice that only could be heard in dreams:
And on we glided without mast or oar,
A wondrous boat upon a wondrous sea.

Sudden, the shore curved inward to a bay,
Broad, calm, with gorgeous sea-weeds waving slow
Beneath the water, like rich thoughts that stir
In the mysterious deep of poets' hearts.

So still, so fair, so rosy in the dawn
Lay that bright bay: yet something seemed to breath,
Or in the air, or from the whispering waves,
Or from that voice, as near as one's own soul,

'There was a wreck last night.' A wreck? then where
The ship, the crew? - The all-entombing sea
On which is writ nor name nor chronicle
Laid itself o'er them with smooth crystal smile.

'Yet was the wreck last night.'. And gazing down
Deep down below the surface, we were ware
Of ghastly faces with their open eyes
Uplooking to the dawn they could not see.

One moved with moving sea-weeds: one lay prone,
The tinted fishes gliding o'er his breast;
One, caught by floating hair, rocked quietly
Upon his reedy cradle, like a child.

'The wreck has been'- said the melodious voice,
'Yet all is peace. The dead, that, while we slept,
Struggled for life, now sleep and fear no storms:
O'er them let us not weep when heaven smiles.'

So we sailed on above the diamond sands,
Bright sea-flowers, and white faces stony calm,
Till the waves bore us to the open main,
And the great sun arose upon the world.


▲ Chinese Translation

★梦见死亡

☆ [英] 黛娜•玛丽亚•马洛克•克雷克 (1826 - 1887) 诗
☆ [中] 罗志海 译


一个只能在梦中听到的声音：
"今天我们航行哪里呢？"——我的心声
当下，我们没有下滑桅杆或桨
一艘奇妙的船航行在一个奇妙的海上

突然，一湾海岸向内弯曲
宽阔，平静，华丽的海草缓慢伴舞
在水下，如同诗人睿智的大脑偏激
又像诗人深奥的心海神秘

朝霞充满玫瑰色调，如此美丽，这样寂静
躺在那翡翠湾，屏住呼吸
罩在虚空里，静听波浪耳语
还是那个声音，如此接近自己的灵魂

"昨晚有一艘沉船。"沉船？在哪里
这艘船，遇难船员？全都葬在海里
没有名字也没有记录
船员的笑容栩栩如生一见如故

"是昨晚的沉船残骸"。向下凝视
在水下深处，我们心知肚明
他们恐怖的面孔睁大眼睛
可是再也见不到明天的黎明

一个尸体随着海草飘动，一个趴着不动
彩色的鱼滑行过他的胸膛
飘动的头发缠住一条，静静地摇晃
就像小孩，在芦苇摇篮里悠荡

"残骸已经"——悦耳的声音说
"当我们睡觉时，死神莅临，一切祥和
他们奋斗了一生，现在睡觉，不再害怕风暴
我们不要哭泣，他们在天堂里微笑"

我们继续在钻石礁海域航行
鲜艳的海花，白皙的脸孔，石头般平静
直到海浪将我们汹涌入浩瀚的海洋
直到天际冉冉升起硕大无朋的太阳


北京时间2014年12月29日翻译
Beijing time 12/29/2014 translation