A Raven by Hu Shi ~ 胡适 《老鸦》 with English Translations

作品原文

胡适 《老鸦》

我大清早起,
站在人家屋角上哑哑的啼
人家讨嫌我,说我不吉利:──
我不能呢呢喃喃讨人家的欢喜!

天寒风紧,无枝可栖。
我整日里飞去飞回,整日里又寒又饥──
我不能带着鞘儿,翁翁央央的替人家飞;
也能叫人家系在竹竿头,赚一把小米!

英文译文

 

A Raven
Hu Shi

I wake early,
Croak high up on the roof top.
No one’s glad to hear me,
All call me
An evil omen,
But only because I can’t flatter their ears
With twittering and soft songs.

It’s cold, it’s windy,
There’s nothing to cling to.
All day long I fly this way and that,
Cold, hungry.
But how could I slave for my master
Like some bootlicking pigeon?
No one can tie me
To a bamboo stick end
Just for an easy handout of grain!

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