Homeland
Blue globe
a celestial body that slowly rotates
Human beings, the world, you, ourselves
The ancient legend is written on sheepskin
—diary of the mankind in the old days
An ocean tide collides with an antique bottle
Voices sealed inside
Prehistorical, AD… current century
The first infant wrapped up
enjoys the true civilization first
Write into history what’s past
Set up a beacon on what’s coming next
What’s left behind is an epic, a fairy tale
and also a pyramid
—wound of the earth
Ocean, land… no forbidden zones yet
But closing one eye
is to lose half of the world
Unfortunate indeed
A human is always divided into two halves
—one half facing the sun
—one half facing the shade
Sun, Milky Way, galaxies beyond…
“Continents”, a historical conception
Rockets are searching for other spaces
The world appears not big enough
not to mention our little home
Walls, barbed wires, borders… border lines
Home, you are divided into several classes and poles
the long silent snow-capped land, the permafrost zone
the desert that still has life
algaes, mosses, lichens… poppies
Pick up an early blooming poppy
for your friends, brothers, faraway neighbors…
by Yo Ma
from Poetry International, 2019
Translation: Ming Di
Read original at “Read more”
家园
蓝色的地球仪
缓缓转动的天体
人类、世界、你、我们自己
古老的传说写在羊皮上
——人类往昔的日记
海潮冲上一个古瓶
缄封着声音
史前、公元……本世纪
第一个包进襁褓的婴儿
最先享受真正的文明
给过去的写下历史
给要来的注明航标
留下了史诗，留下了童话
也留下了金字塔
——地球上的伤疤
海洋、陆地……还没有禁区
闭上一只眼睛
即失去半边天地
的确不幸
人，总被分成两部分
——一半向阳
——一半背阴
太阳、银河、河外星系……
大洲，成为历史概念
火箭，去寻找另一些空间
世界已显得不够大
何况我们小小的家
墙、铁丝网、界边……国境线
家啊，你被分成几极
长眠的覆雪层、永久冻土区
荒漠极地还是有生命
藻类、苔藓、地衣……罂粟
拾起一束早开的罂粟
给朋友、兄弟、遥远的邻居……