Su Shi and Igor Golubev - Boat

~ Перевод "Лодки" Су Ши и Игоря Голубева

Rain and stream were singing all night
Their droning, mournful tune.
Morning breeze blew in its rhyme,
That may have frightened the moon.

So lackluster and sad are all things,
At least, that's what they seem.
I'd really love to take a few sips
From the clear, murmuring stream.

Chorus:
I'm on my way, and I'm worried or bothered with nothing
In my lonely, lonely boat—through the splashy waves it is cutting.

I walked all around the wall—
It's a distance of thirty li.
And everywhere, far and near, I saw
Shiny colors growing bleak.

Only thickets of reeds spread out like seas
Whenever you throw an eye.
I'm steering my boat, and it appears
A petal, frail and light.

Chorus

Hardly seen is the fisherman's hat,
Almost lost amid the reeds.
The snowy white bush of his hair
Also peeps from under it.

I'd really love coming closer to him
To say my hello—alas!
I scared seagulls, just to see
The fisherman vanish at once.

Chorus

Nature breathed a new life into all,
And into the things we love—
And what we love with all our soul
Can't be counted, sadly enough.

I came ashore whilst the wind and the boat
Kept on arguing, muffled by reeds.
The river's torrent rapidly tore
The reflection of clouds to bits.

Chorus