前世今生 (Past Life and Present)

那一年、我代表美國統計局、參加中美兩國統計局的交流計劃、在回洛杉磯的飛機上,我旁邊坐著一位中年美國人,他會說一些中文,我們自然而然的用中文聊起天來,原來他是美國留學生、正在浙江大學讀經濟博士、對中國的傳統文化特別有興趣,杭州是我母親的故鄉,談起杭州的風物景觀、歷史人物故事是談不完的,在歡談中他聼說我業餘寫詩,他突然變得很嚴肅:「你能為我寫一首白蛇的詩嗎?」嗯…我沒寫過,也不曾想過寫這白蛇故事,他見我猶豫,馬上接下去說:「我只喜歡白蛇的故事,我對其他故事沒有興趣」。我仔細看他,他年近中年,不像是少年衝動的那一類型,不管是什麼原因,他看來極其認真,我忽然被他對西湖的熱忱所感動,我只好答應了下來。但是怎麼寫呢?從那裏寫起呢?我開始沉吟思索。想不到這家喻戶曉的故事,反因太熟悉了,極难下筆,長久以來, 我寫寫停停, 一再停筆,十年過去了,才勉強寫完。但那位老美留下的地址卻找不到了,為了當年的一個承諾,我希望他能看到這篇白蛇之詩,並以中英双語書寫,以方便國際人士的閱讀。

前世今生(Past Life and Present)

命中註定的某一天

峨眉山上的一條白蛇

放下千年修練 

來到美麗的西子湖邊

青山綠水

草長鶯飛 

黃梅天氣

細雨霏霏

栁葉後 湖水前

藉一把小雨傘

佳人才子 

 斷橋初見

兩人攜手流連

朝看蘇堤 綠柳紅桃

夜聼晚鐘 餘音渺渺

流連處 天上人間

風乍起 情生變 
斷橋情斷  

好夢難圓 

姻緣何其短暫 

雷峰塔前 
夜夜 孤鴉飛過 
啼聲淒然 
似在向人訴說 

前世今生

恩恩怨怨

Past Life and Present

關德松翻譯

Once upon a fateful day

A white snake from Emei Mountains

Ventured from her millennial perch

Set foot on the shores of scenic West Lake

Green hills surrounded by blue waters

Orioles glided amongst long grass

It was Huang Mei season with

Drizzles dancing in the air

Behind willow trees, in front of lake water

A small umbrella became matchmaker to

Beautiful lady and talented gentleman

In their first rendezvous on Broken Bridge

Hand-in-hand they ambled along the shores

Taking in the sights of Su Bridge at dawn

Green willows intertwined with red peaches

Listening to the reverberating sounds of gongs at dusk

Wherever they wandered their joy was heaven-on-earth

The path was unexpectedly strewn with thistles and thorns

Life on earth could be filled with sufferings

Journey to eternal bliss

Could be so far away

Storms brewed, love shattered

At the Broken Bridge

Beautiful dreams unfulfilled

How could love be so fleeting

Every night a lonely crow

Fluttering in front of Leifeng Pagoda

Mourning in melancholy

Seeming to reveal to us mortals

All the Past Life and Present

All the tangled Love and Remorse