Seventy Years as Spring     Hsu ChiCheng
— Written for the 70th birthday

Like a piece of withered tree meeting spring
Like a timely rain after drought
Like a young animal
He was born at the age of seventy
Seventy as the spring where everything on earth sprouts
He not only reappears*, but is also reborn
He immediately deploys his wings of heart**
To give rise to a spell of wind, waving and gathering heavenward

(This time can he incise the past?
This time can he obtain a new environment?
This time can he snatch a new opportunity?
This time can he live a happy and contented life?)

What can be sure is
Willy-nilly, it is
Destined to be under the slanting sun
To elegantly fly into the dim dusk
Into the nippy winter
To hold fast to one’s unswerving ambition
In a strong spirit
To overcome corporeal aging
To shoulder the load of years
To irradiate one’s own light and heat
To warm oneself up …

After being reborn, to spread out wings
To wave and gather heavenward
Seventy as the spring where everything on earth sprouts
To have old men with extraordinary achievements for company
This time to be more steady and more steadfast
This time not only reappearance, but also rebirth
Spiritually oneself must be thoroughly remoulded
To overcome corporeal aging
To shoulder the load of years
To be walking in scorching heat, severe coldness, and winds & rains
To overstep myriads of hills and rills, as well as bumpiness of roads …

* The poet has published a poetry collection entitled Reappearance (Chinese-English) in May, 2008 by the Earth Culture Press.
** Wings of Heart is a poetry collection by Zanneta Kalyva-Papaioanou, a Greek poetess, published in May, 2007 by Athens Platanos Editions, and it is a multilingual version of Greek, English, French, Italian, and Chinese. In addition to the author’s Greek, it is translated into English by Zacharoula Gaitanaki, into French by Constantina Spanou, into Italian by Tota Tsakou-Convertino, and into Chinese by the author of this poem.
(Tr. Zhang Zhizhong)

World of Poets 2013/12/14

Margaret Ann Waddicor's opinions:

Seventy years as spring- I so very much enjoyed the first verse of this, but then there was too much for me.It is repetition of the same. And willy nilly isn't consistent with the poems character. This could be much shorter and more precise, it would be a very fine poem indeed then. I say this because that's how I feel about it, others have different ideas, but this is my opinion.

Margaret Ann Waddicor.

World of Poets 2013/12/1

Hsu ChiCheng's response:

Thank you very much. I'm specialized in writing simple and precise in my poems, and you said more precise is need of this poem, it appears that I must do my best effort in this way. I'll do my best as you said. Thanks a lot.

Hsu ChiCheng

World of Poets 2013/12/14

Panayiota Ryall said:

Panayiota

中文原詩如后:

        以七十為春     許其正

                  ——為七十歲生日而寫

如枯木之逢春

如久旱之得甘霖

他乃一幼芻

從七十破殼而出

以七十為萬物始生的春

不僅重現（注1），更是重生

立即展開他特具的心的翅膀（注2）

鼓起一陣風，欲摶扶搖而直上青天

（這次他能和以前切割嗎？

這次他能獲得一個新的環境嗎？

這次他能攫取一個新的機會嗎？

這次他能過新日子快樂而自足嗎？）

可以肯定的是

不管願不願意，必須

命定在西斜的夕照下

翩翩飛向朦朦的暮色裏

飛進凜冽的寒冬中

緊握自己堅定的意志

以堅強的精神力量

去克服肉體的老化

去肩起歲月的重量

閃發自己的光和熱

取得自己的暖……

破殼而出，然後展開翅膀

摶扶搖而直上青天吧

以七十為萬物始生的春

與歷來成就非凡的老人為儔

這次會更堅實更穩健

這次不僅是重現，更是重生

精神上必須脫胎換骨

以克服肉體的老化

肩起歲月的重量

穿行在酷熱、嚴寒和風雨中

跨越過所有千山萬水，崎嶇不平……

注1：《重現》為本詩作者中英對照詩集，2008年5月由環球文化出版社出版。

注2：《心的翅膀》是希臘女詩人札拿他·卡莉瓦-帕白奧安諾的一本詩集，由雅典梧桐樹出版社於2007年5月出版，系希臘語、英語、法語、義大利語和漢語五種語言的混語版。除作者以希臘語書寫外，英語由Zacharoula Gaitanaki翻譯，法語由Constantina Spanou翻譯，義大利語由Tota Tsakou-Convertino翻譯，漢語由本詩作者翻譯。