The rain has stopped, beyond the meadow
Stands a horse
Through mist, the sodden grass drifts dimly.
Ren Lin
Ren Lin, a native of the Old Town of Luoyang in Henan Province, grew up in Northwest China with his parents from an early age. He has published more than ten collections of poems, prose anthologies and critical biographies. His awards include the Annual Poet Award of Stars Poetry Journal, the Zijin-Yuhua Literature Prize, the 21st Hundred Flowers Literature Prize, the Biennial Literature Prize of Shuofang, and the 13th Chu Jiwang Literature Prize. He currently lives in Lanzhou.
人邻，河南洛阳老城人，自幼随父母在西北生活。出版诗集、散文集、评传十余种。获《星星》诗刊年度诗人奖，紫金•雨花文学奖，21届百花文学奖，《朔方》双年文学奖，十三届储吉旺文学奖等奖项。现居兰州。
Translated by Ma Yongbo
Grassland in Mist
The rain has stopped, beyond the meadow
Stands a horse
Through mist, the sodden grass drifts dimly.
On this side, along the slope’s verge, a great stretch caved in overnight
Laying bare jagged stones mixed with dark brown loam
Tangled wild roots like unyielding bones
Long and overgrown.
Here the horse grazes, head lowered, lifting it now and then
As if waiting, brooding, listening
For the bare embankment
To collapse wide once more.
When its head hangs low
It seems to hold a strange longing
For what is yet to come.
雾中草地
雨停了，草地那边
有一匹马
雾中，湿漉漉的草地，朦胧浮动
这边草坡边缘，昨夜大片坍塌
裸露出夹杂着黑褐泥土的尖利碎石
桀骜不驯的骨头一样的草根
长而芜杂
这边，低头吃草的马，偶尔抬头
似乎在等待，在预谋，在听着
赤裸的草坡
再一次的大面积坍塌
它低着头的时候
似乎对这将要发生的
有着神秘的期待
_______
Poem About Horses
Families in Burqin set out horse intestines and mare’s milk
The mare’s milk ferments like fresh grass
This tangy, warm milk
Drawn from the mare’s motherly embrace
As for horse intestines, I cannot fathom their winding darkness
These noble creatures
Countless times I’ve stared into their untainted eyes
Clear as still water
Glimmering with pale sky light
I could not bear to press my travelling companion for details
How are horses slaughtered
He hesitated, mumbled
And said nothing clear
Yet I picture the horses led to slaughter, the aged horses
Must brim with tears, yet stand rigidly upright
At the moment they sink heavily to the ground
Their legs stay straight to the last
I quietly pushed the plate of horse intestines aside
I drank the mare’s milk instead
Let me lift this bowl and give thanks
A mare’s motherhood is no different from a human mother’s
与马有关的诗
布尔津人家端上马肠和马奶
马奶一如青草的发酵
这酸热的奶
来自马的母亲的怀抱
马肠，我难以想象它曲折的幽暗
这高贵的动物
我无数次凝视过它们无邪的眼神
明净如水
泛着天光
不忍多问同行的人
马是怎样的一种宰杀
他含混犹豫
语焉不详
而我推想给宰杀的马，衰老之马
应该是饱含热泪，却依旧笔直站立
沉沉倒下的一瞬
马的腿也是笔直的
那马肠我悄悄推在一遍
马奶我喝下
请让我随着举起的碗感激
马的母亲和人类的母亲也是一样的啊
________
Wasp
Inside the Buddha hall, a wasp gasps its last breath
Some stray gust has blown it in
Its wings have withered thin and dry without a sound
(Those black-and-yellow bands are warning hues in psychology
Yet the wasp itself can never know)
A faint spark of life still lingers, its very last breath
Who would spare it a glance, the hand striking a match to light a lamp
That sharp scratch sounds just like its tiny heart, lurching once
What patch of earth shall be its final resting place
No! Whoever witnesses its passing
That gaze alone becomes merciful soil to lay it to rest
马蜂
佛殿里，奄奄一息的马蜂
不知哪一阵风把它吹了进来
翅膀已然悄悄枯干憔悴了
（黑黄的条纹是心理学上的警告色
它自己不会知道）
它尚存一息，最后一息
有谁会注意到，谁擦燃火柴点灯的手指
“哧”的一声，多像它的小小心脏，突地一跳
它最后的归处，是哪一处泥土
不啊！谁看见了它的死亡
谁的眼神，就是安息了它的慈悲泥土
________________________
Read: Purple Copper – Poetry from China
