向日葵的天空 A Sunflower Sky : 7月 2014

作者:譚亞菁 / Translated by Parker Gadbois

關於花落、花開，眼光與生命的一串小詩......
A string of poems about wilting, blooming, insights and life......

一片荷花落葉,

落葉的線條與姿態,
自成另一幅風景,
像一隻優雅的粉紅天鵝？

A fallen lotus leaf,

Deciduous lines and posture,

A unique landscape in itself,

or perhaps an elegant pink swan?

還記得一個令我印象深刻的國學考題如下：

“春風又綠江南岸”
這裡的“綠”是什麼詞性？
答案：動詞！（意味著春天的綠意盎然和生命活力）

沒錯, 走在荷花池邊,
我感受到“綠是動詞”！

I still remember an impressionable question from the Sinology Exam,

it goes as follows:

"Spring wind again greens the southern bank"

The "green" here is what part of speech?

Answer: A verb! (meaning the green of spring is full of life and vitality)

Indeed, walking beside the lotus pool

I get that "green is the verb" feeling!

玉蘭,
才短短兩天,
妳失去了原有的白皙,
但乾燥後的妳,
竟依舊散發淡雅迷人的香氣,
欣賞妳的堅持,
堅持散發馨香之氣,
讓妳周遭的人,
心靈被滋潤著......
謝謝妳, 玉蘭,
讓我看見另一種美麗,
窗外的綠意,
也遮不住妳的美！

Magnolia,

After only two days,

You lost your original fair complexion,

But the you after a dry,

Unexpectedly still exudes a charming and elegant aroma.

I appreciate your perseverance,

to insist on emitting a pleasant smell,

Giving the people around you,

a mind nourished by Magnolia....

Thank you, Magnolia,

for letting me see another kind of beautiful,

the green outside the window,

is not enough to hide your beauty!

有一天, 我們都會漸漸老去, 也許外表就像這乾燥的玉蘭, 不再光鮮亮麗,

但惟願能繼續散發生命的馨香, 就像這玉蘭......

A day will come, when all of us will be getting older, perhaps on the outside looking just like a dried Magnolia, no longer glamorous, but may we all be able to continue emitting the fragrance of life, just like the Magnolia....

玉蘭花的迴響

Rebecca Lo (麗芳) :

這倒讓我想起愛默生來了。他有首「紫陀羅花」的詩作，是這樣說的：「樹林裏一個潮濕的角落，有新鮮的紫陀羅花，展開她無葉的花朵…那紫色的花瓣落到池塘裏，使那黑水也變為艷麗。…

紫陀羅花，若有哲人問你，為什麼在天地間浪費你的美？你告訴他們…美麗的自身就是存在的理由…」如果美麗的自身就是存在的理由，那麼生命的本身就是存在的見證，像你的玉蘭花。

謝謝妳, Rebecca! 好動人的分享和回應, 這首「紫陀羅花」所展現的圖像和意涵太美了, 讓我想哭......真的, 生命的本身, 就是最美的存在和見證, 任何人都不例外！

Magnolia's Echo

Rebecca Lo (Li Fang):

This made me think of Emerson. His poem "The Rhodora", has these lines:

"I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods, Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook....The purple petals fallen in the pool. Made the black water with their beauty gay...Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why. This charm is wasted on the earth and sky, Tell them, dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing, Then beauty is its own excuse for Being"

If beauty itself is a reason for existence, then life itself is a testimony to existence, just like your Magnolia.

Thank you Rebecca! What a heartfelt share and response, for the poem "The Rhodora", the images depicted and the meaning is so beautiful, it made me want to cry...indeed, life itself, is the most beautiful existence and testimony, without exception!