Platinum and Niobium
--To Shengzhe Nie, Jialing Han, and Boni[1] Nie
By Mingyun Wang
Translated by Wenwu Zhang
I hear the bell ringing in the valley,
And Solomon praying for the king--
"Let them fear you while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more."
Ah, dear sisters and brothers,
We suffered pains or hardships;
We welcome sunrise and snow
With our plain hands;
We expect black seawater getting blue;
We expect melons and fruits fragrant in fields.
In a vegetable field of 1 acreage,
On a hillside in Xiuning Civilian School,
Radishes and Chinese cabbages thriving,
I look down, and touch the leaves and flowers,
As if I've seen children's faces.
Yes, we are born kind-hearted,
Letting fishes swim in our palms,
Letting all birds fly back to the blue sky and forests.
We don't kill dogs despite the rabies;
We don't dislike animals despite the Bird Flu.
Our tightening hearts tremble
For falling leaves in autumn wind.
I'll beat the drums and gongs for your wedding,
Beggar embracing a meadow.
Little happiness,
And calm tears,
Are all written in poems.
Gathering all steel and iron
In our body, we won't turn them into
Guns, cannons, bullets or cutters,
Let alone curbs and curses,
Let alone rebellion and indifference,
But blood and tears,
Salt for daily life,
Rain for earth,
And inexhaustible love by accumulation.
I'm an exhausted gray rabbit,
A turtle or platypus that loses his way.
I don't want to stop the exhausted footsteps,
Just because I believe that there are a pond and meadow ahead.
I've been hungry and ill; I've taken wrong flowers and herbs;
I've got a salt lake in my eyes;
However, I have no choice but to live and go on living.
Lord, love, sisters and brothers,
Are in complete harmony by candlelight,
Familiar or strange,
Together or apart,
Old or young.
A clock can't contain all the time,
While a bead can contain all the sunshine and moonlight.
Six-year-old Boni Nie, your small fingers
Dance on the keys.
Now, the sea is blue, birds dancing;
Now, the world is quiet, stars wordless;
Now, mountains are encircled by happiness, flocks as clothes of the meadow;
Now, your father and me,
Once more, become poets,
Become rare metals,
Platinum and niobium.
Notes:
[1]: In Chinese, Bo(铂) means "platinum", and Ni(铌) means "niobium".
Draft: Dec. 25th, 2006
Final text: Jan. 10th, 2010
中文原文：
--To Shengzhe Nie, Jialing Han, and Boni[1] Nie
By Mingyun Wang
Translated by Wenwu Zhang
I hear the bell ringing in the valley,
And Solomon praying for the king--
"Let them fear you while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
In his days may the righteous flourish,
And abundance of peace till the moon is no more."
Ah, dear sisters and brothers,
We suffered pains or hardships;
We welcome sunrise and snow
With our plain hands;
We expect black seawater getting blue;
We expect melons and fruits fragrant in fields.
In a vegetable field of 1 acreage,
On a hillside in Xiuning Civilian School,
Radishes and Chinese cabbages thriving,
I look down, and touch the leaves and flowers,
As if I've seen children's faces.
Yes, we are born kind-hearted,
Letting fishes swim in our palms,
Letting all birds fly back to the blue sky and forests.
We don't kill dogs despite the rabies;
We don't dislike animals despite the Bird Flu.
Our tightening hearts tremble
For falling leaves in autumn wind.
I'll beat the drums and gongs for your wedding,
Beggar embracing a meadow.
Little happiness,
And calm tears,
Are all written in poems.
Gathering all steel and iron
In our body, we won't turn them into
Guns, cannons, bullets or cutters,
Let alone curbs and curses,
Let alone rebellion and indifference,
But blood and tears,
Salt for daily life,
Rain for earth,
And inexhaustible love by accumulation.
I'm an exhausted gray rabbit,
A turtle or platypus that loses his way.
I don't want to stop the exhausted footsteps,
Just because I believe that there are a pond and meadow ahead.
I've been hungry and ill; I've taken wrong flowers and herbs;
I've got a salt lake in my eyes;
However, I have no choice but to live and go on living.
Lord, love, sisters and brothers,
Are in complete harmony by candlelight,
Familiar or strange,
Together or apart,
Old or young.
A clock can't contain all the time,
While a bead can contain all the sunshine and moonlight.
Six-year-old Boni Nie, your small fingers
Dance on the keys.
Now, the sea is blue, birds dancing;
Now, the world is quiet, stars wordless;
Now, mountains are encircled by happiness, flocks as clothes of the meadow;
Now, your father and me,
Once more, become poets,
Become rare metals,
Platinum and niobium.
Notes:
[1]: In Chinese, Bo(铂) means "platinum", and Ni(铌) means "niobium".
Draft: Dec. 25th, 2006
Final text: Jan. 10th, 2010
中文原文：
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