Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again --- by Xu Zhimo

Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again

         --- by Xu Zhimo 

Very quietly I take my leave As quietly as I came here; Quietly I wave good-bye To the rosy clouds in the western sky.

The golden willows by the riverside Are young brides in the setting sun; Their reflections on the shimmering waves Always linger in the depth of my heart.

The floatingheart growing in the sludge Sways leisurely under the water; In the gentle waves of Cambridge I would be a water plant!

That pool under the shade of elm trees Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky; Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream?

To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream To where the green grass is more verdant; Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight And sing aloud in the splendour of starlight.

But I cannot sing aloud Quietness is my farewell music; Even summer insects heep silence for me Silent is Cambridge tonight!

Very quietly I take my leave As quietly as I came here; Gently I flick my sleeves Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away November 6,1928