Sixth Month by Zhou Mengdie ~ 周梦蝶 《六月》 with English Translations

作品原文

周梦蝶 《六月》

蘧然醒来
缤纷的花雨打得我底影子好湿！
是梦？是真？
面对珊瑚礁下覆舟的今夕。

一粒舍利等于多少坚忍？世尊
你底心很亮，而六月的心很暖──
我有几个六月？
我将如何安放我的固执？
在你与六月之间。

据说蛇底血脉是没有年龄的！
纵使你铸永夜为秋，永夜为冬
纵使黑暗挖去自己的眼睛……
蛇知道：它仍能自水里喊出火的消息。

死亡在我掌上旋舞
一个蹉跌，她流星般落下
我欲翻身拾起再拚圆
虹断霞飞，她已纷纷化为蝴蝶。

作品译文

Sixth Month
Zhou Mengdie

Suddenly I wake up
to the sound of a rain of blossoms in profusion,
pounding till my shadow’s soaked!
Is it a dream? Real?
Facing tonight: an upside-down
boat under a coral reef.

How much endurance will turn my bones
to an indestructible Relic? Buddha,
your heart is radiant, but the Sixth Month’s heart is warm—
how many Sixth Months will I have?
Where can I park my perseverance?
Between you and the Sixth Month.

They say snakes’ veins are ageless!
Even if you worked the metal of eternal night
into autumn, into winter;
even if darkness gouged out its own eyes…
the snake would know: from under the water
he could still cry tidings of fire.

Death whirled, dancing on my palm
till she fell, dropped like a meteor.
I want to turn around, pick her up, and put her back
but—rainbow broken, red clouds flown—
she’s already become
a profusion of butterflies.