Two Poems by Ya Hsien Translated by Haitian/Helena Jiang

如歌的行板

瘂弦

溫柔之必要
肯定之必要
一點點酒和木樨花之必要
正正經經看一名女子走過之必要
君非海明威此一起碼認識之必要
歐戰，雨，加農炮，天氣與紅十字會之必要
散步之必要
溜狗之必要
薄荷茶之必要
每晚七點鐘自證券交易所彼端
草一般飄起來的謠言之必要。旋轉玻璃門
之必要。盤尼西林之必要。暗殺之必要。晚報之必要。
穿法蘭絨長褲之必要。馬票之必要
姑母繼承遺產之必要
陽台、海、微笑之必要
懶洋洋之必要

而既被目為一條河總得繼續流下去
世界老這樣總這樣：——
觀音在遠遠的山上
罌粟在罌粟的田裡

                                                                                                                 1964年4月








Andante Cantabile

By Ya Hsien 

The necessity of gentleness
The necessity of affirmation
The necessity of a bit of wine and osmanthus flowers
The necessity of watching a passing woman earnestly
The necessity of the recognition that thou art not Hemingway
The necessity of World Wars, rain, cannonballs, weather and The Red Cross
The necessity of walking
The necessity of walking the dog
The necessity of mint tea
The necessity for a rumour to float up like a leaf of grass
from the other side of the stock exchange, each night at seven. The necessity of
glass revolving doors. The necessity of Penicillin. The necessity of
assassination. The necessity of evening papers.
The necessity of wearing flannel trousers. The necessity of horse racing tickets
The necessity for the aunt to inherit the legacy
The necessity of the balcony, the sea, and smiles
The necessity to lounge

While when regarded as a river it is necessary to flow on
The world is often like this, always like this: —
In the distant mountain of the Guanyin
The poppies are in the poppies’ fields

                                                                                                                                      April, 1964









一般之歌 

瘂弦

鐵蒺藜那廂是國民小學，再遠一些是鋸木廠 
隔壁是蘇阿姨的園子；種著萵苣，玉蜀黍 
三棵楓樹左邊還有一些別的 
再下去是郵政局、網球場，而一直向西則是車站 
至於雲現在是飄在曬著的衣物之上 
至於悲哀或正躲在靠近鐵道的什麼地方 
總是這個樣子的 
五月已至 
而安安靜靜接受這些不許吵鬧 

五時三刻一列貨車駛過 
河在橋墩下打了個美麗的結又去遠了 
當草與草從此地出發去佔領遠處的那座墳場 
死人們從不東張西望 
而主要的是 
一個男孩在吃著桃子 
五月已至 
不管永恆在誰家樑上做巢 
安安靜靜接受這些不許吵鬧










Song of the Ordinary

By Ya Hsien 

Beyond the caltrops is the elementary school, and farther down
the lumber mill
Next door is Aunt Su’s garden, planted with lettuce,
maize
To the left of the three maples something else
And then the post office, the tennis court, and all the way to
the west is the station
As for the clouds now they’re drifting above the hung clothes
As for sorrow it might be lurking somewhere near the rails
It’s always like this
May has arrived
But silently accept these, no clamoring

Three-quarters past five a lorry passes by
The river ties a pretty knot at the foot of the pier and flows on
When grass and grass set off from here to invade
that distant graveyard
The dead never peek around
But what matters is
There on the balcony
A boy is eating a peach
May has arrived
No matter on whose roof beam eternity settles its nest
Silently accept these, no clamoring

                                                                                                                  April, 1965

Ya Hsien (1932—11 October 2024), real name Wang Ching-lin, was a Taiwanese poet and scholar. His first poem, entitled “A Small Flower”, was published in 1954. Also in 1954 alongside fellow poets Chang Mo and Luo Fu he founded the Epoch Poetry Society which subsequently became highly influential.

Haitian/Helena Jiang is a postgraduate majoring in English Language and Literature at Shanghai International Studies University, China. Her poems, fiction, translations and paintings have appeared or are forthcoming in Hobart, Ilanot Review, Heavy Feather Review, Hawaii Pacific Review, Arkana, Corvus Review, and elsewhere.

10 December 2025