Blue birds carry letters across far kingdoms,
Our ink and rice paper weave a profound bond.
Selected Classical Regulated Poems by Ma Yongbo
Ma Yongbo is renowned for his modern avant-garde poetry and translations of European and American verse. In recent years, he has also composed ancient-style poems and traditional regulated verse. His works weave together the vast, rugged experiences of northern China, the tranquil contemplation of his study in Jinling, landscapes encountered on his travels, and intimate reflections on family life. Meticulously crafted in formal meter and rhyme, his verse carries contemporary thematic threads, free from the stale clichés of old literati, blending ecological lyricism with profound meditations on individual existence.
—Yuan Ren, poet, writer and critic. He has published more than thirty works and excels particularly at composing metrical classical poetry. He currently resides in Shenzhen.
马永波以现代先锋诗、欧美诗歌翻译名世，近年兼作古风及传统格律诗，融北方苍茫阅历、金陵书斋心境、行旅风物与家事感怀，格律谨严而意脉现代，少旧文人陈腐套语，兼具生态诗意与个人生命沉思。
——远人，诗人，作家，批评家，出版著作三十余种，尤其擅长格律诗词写作，现居深圳
To My Overseas Poet Friends
Our sails are parted by vast ocean waves,
Yet poetic visions share one earthly space.
My translations cross to Europe and the Americas,
From China rise ten thousand misty landscapes.
Blue birds carry letters across far kingdoms,
Our ink and rice paper weave a profound bond.
Someday beneath green mountain slopes,
We sit face to face, counting our scrolls of
Psalms.
赠海外诗友
云帆隔沧海，
诗思有桑田。
译句通欧美，
神州挥万烟。
青鸟传远信，
文墨结深缘。
他日青山下，
相对数寸笺。
***
Meeting an Old Friend in Changsha — To a Distant Wanderer
Ten years scarce meet by river pavilion’s shore,
We gaze awhile at frosted hair once more.
Leaning on rail, we talk of Xiaoxiang rain;
Over wine cups, relive Hengyue’s cold terrain.
Lonely heart still retains the wanderer’s zeal,
This fleeting life won’t let age and illness steal.
Tomorrow I depart for worlds far bound,
I’ll climb green peaks on heroic wind profound.
旅次长沙遇故交——赠远人
十载江亭一晤难，
相逢暂把鬓霜看。
凭阑共话潇湘雨，
对酒重温衡岳寒。
孤怀犹存壮游兴，
浮生未许老病闲。
明朝又向天涯去，
且趁雄风上翠峦。
***
Cliff Cypress
On steep cliffs it forges hardy frame,
Iron branches defy wind and frost.
Deep roots hold fast in rocky seam,
Braving cold through ages of bitter cost.
崖柏
危崖凝劲骨，
铁干傲风霜。
石隙深根固，
凌寒历沧桑。
***
The Trumpet Vines in Bloom
Long cherished the dream of the climbing cloud,
Lingering here, where the world is left behind.
The pine-shaded path is free from mortal dust,
Unwittingly, another ten years have passed.
凌霄花开
久有凌霄愿，
淹留在此间，
松径绝尘迹，
疏忽又十年
***
Ancient Jue Verse – For a Friend
Waited long, my friend nowhere in sight;
With whom to share the moon and winds of night?
Spring days gone by suddenly cross my mind;
Blossoms fall into my lonely cup of wine.
古绝——赠人
候友久无踪，
风月与谁同，
忽忆上春时，
花落一杯中。
***
Grain in Ear
Plum rains moisten hills in misty May,
Wheat fields turn golden day by day.
Needle-green shoots sink in paddy’s sheen,
Hard work earns the good autumn grain.
芒种
梅雨润平冈，
田畴麦渐黄。
秧针栽碧水，
勤作待秋粮。
***
Drunk through the night
Into the town I came last day,
Drunk through the night till break of day.
Ballads dispelled the endless gloom;
Looking back, half my life feels light.
通宵沉醉
昨日入都市，
一醉到天明。
笙歌销永夜，
回首半生轻
***
Passing an Old Friend’s Cottage in summer (Not Calling In)
Soft winds drift across country paths,
Faint smoke rises quietly above the village.
Seeking the charms of distant mountains,
I stroll along the woodland edge.
夏日过故人庄不入
清风吹紫陌，
寂寂起村烟。
缓步经林畔，
寻幽向远山。
***
Lilac Knot — For Nolcha Fox
Purple mist weaves the mood of spring,
Soft winds bear fragrance far to bring.
Each bloom hides knots of thoughts untold,
Breeze drifts, and scents the courtyard hold.
It never vies with blossoms’ grace,
Pure simple joys fill all your space.
The worldly cares that come and go,
You laugh, and let them softly flow.
丁香结——赠诺尔查•福克斯
紫雾凝春绪，
微风送远芳。
瓣藏千结意，
风过满庭香。
不与群芳竞，
清欢岁月长。
人间多少事，
一笑尽相忘。
***
Dante Emerging from Purgatory
Through purgatorial trials, we greet the dawning sky,
Benevolence and grace pervade the world on high.
Forged time and again, no impurity is left inside,
We merge with void and soar to heavens wide.
但丁出炼狱
炼狱熬穿见曙天，
恩慈遍洒满人间。
千锤百炼无余滓，
迹化清虚上九天。
***
Mountain Dwelling
Free from the glitter of the world’s vain day,
Clouds drift down the slanting evening’s ray.
Cranes soar toward isles of old fairy lore,
Courtyard blooms, unbothered by what guests say.
山居
幽居忘世华，
云落晚山斜。
鹤向三山去，
庭花任客夸。
***
In Reply to Jiaxuan’s Dying Poem, Written in the Dingmao Year
Sweet wine! yet friendships prove but pale and cold;
The flies’ loud hum doth make my former faults behold.
They rise each morn with chanticleer’s shrill cry,
And weary chase a fame that soon doth fly.
Envy not thou the old man’s tranquil state,
For tipsy, I hear the war-steed’s mournful fate.
From ashes of old fires, cold sparks remain,
And still illuminate the long river’s main.
和稼轩丁卯病中绝笔
甘醴知交淡，
喧蚊悟昨非。
汲汲随晓唱，
碌碌逐名驰。
休慕安闲叟，
微醺铁马悲。
劫灰余冷火，
犹照大江流。
***
The Glass Begonia
Its translucent blooms linger in my childish eyes,
I first knew autumn begonia, crowned in twilight’s sighs.
Thin leaves and tender boughs sustained my frugal youth,
Your soft grace alone relieved my tasteless, dreary truth.
Bright petals glow like candy, charming slender hands,
Their crimson tides pierce grief that plagues my ailing land6s.
Though scattered blooms sink deep in dusty ground, their radiance remains,
Tempered soul and hardened bone shall light my vessel’s course ahead.
玻璃脆
玻璃脆影映童眸，
始识秋棠号擅秋。
纤叶柔柯滋俭岁，
枯肠寡味赖君柔。
霓糖炫目迷兰指，
血浪惊心蚀病愁。
碎落尘泥光未烬，
淬魂砺骨耀新舟。
_________________________
Read: Descendants – Poetry from China
Heart touching poetry