Reading an Anthology of Chinese Poems of the Sung Dynasty, I pause to Admire the Length and Clarity of their Titles

By Billy Collins

It seems these poets have nothing

up their ample sleeves

they turn over so many cards so early,

telling us before the first line

whether it is wet or dry,

night or day, the season the man is standing in,

even how much he has had to drink.

Maybe it is autumn and he is looking at a sparrow.

Maybe it is snowing on a town with a beautiful name.

"Viewing Peonies at the Temple of Good Fortune

on a Cloudy Afternoon" is one of Sun Tung Po's.

"Dipping Water from the River and Simmering Tea"

is another one, or just

"On a Boat, Awake at Night."

And Lu Yu takes the simple rice cake with

"In a Boat on a Summer Evening

I Heard the Cry of a Waterbird.

It Was Very Sad and Seemed To Be Saying

My Woman Is Cruel—Moved, I Wrote This Poem."

There is no iron turnstile to push against here

as with headings like "Vortex on a String,"

"The Horn of Neurosis," or whatever.

No confusingly inscribed welcome mat to puzzle over.

Instead, "I Walk Out on a Summer Morning

to the Sound of Birds and a Waterfall"

is a beaded curtain brushing over my shoulders.

And "Ten Days of Spring Rain Have Kept Me Indoors"

is a servant who shows me into the room

where a poet with a thin beard

is sitting on a mat with a jug of wine

whispering something about clouds and cold wind,

about sickness and the loss of friends.

How easy he has made it for me to enter here,

to sit down in a corner,

cross my legs like his, and listen.

阅读《宋诗选》，

其标题之长之清晰令我叹服

Billy Collins/著

昨非/译

似乎这些诗人的广袖里

并未藏有玄机，

一开篇

就向我们做了宣示，

是晴是雨，

夜晚还是白日，站立的季节,

甚至饮酒的多少。

也许是秋天，他在察看一只麻雀，

也许雪落在小城，一个美好的名字。

“多云之日，在吉祥寺观赏牡丹”

这是苏东坡的一首诗；

“河中汲水，煎茶”

是他的另一作品；或者这一首

“舟上，一宿未眠”。

陆游的笔墨，犹如朴素的米糕：

“夏日傍晚在一条船上

我听到水鸟的呼声，

如此悲伤，似乎在说

我的妇人多么无情——感慨之下，我写下这首诗”。

无需费力推开铁栅门，

就如此类的现代诗：“弦上的漩涡”

或“神经官能症之角”云云，

门前的垫毯上，也没有晦涩的词语。

只是写道：“夏日的清晨

在鸟鸣与水声中，我出去走走”，

这些文字，如珠帘轻抚我的肩头。

还有“春雨十日，不出门”，

如一个仆人将我引入房屋。

那里，诗人在一壶酒旁，席地而坐，

他留着稀薄的胡子，

悄声谈论云朵与清风

以及疾病、佚失的故人。

他让我随意入室，

在一个角落

如他那样盘膝坐下，倾听。

注解：此诗中的所谓标题，与传世的宋诗标题，内容有所出入（如陆游原诗标题应为《夏夜舟中闻水鸟声甚哀若曰姑恶感而作诗》）；或就常见的宋诗标题，泛泛举例而已。翻译时依照英文意义，亦不采用汉语书名号，以免引起误解。