The Rain Says - Zheng Chou Yu / 郑愁予
(The rain says, April has waited on the earth for a long while......) / The rice paddies and pastures have waited long enough. / So have fish ponds and running brooks. / When the fields are frozen all winter, imprisoning the seeds, / The pastures wither brown, tracks of cows and sheep vanish. /
Zheng Chou Yu / 郑愁予
The Rain Says
—Sung for the children living on the Chinese soil
(The rain says, April has waited on the earth for a long while......)
The rice paddies and pastures have waited long enough.
So have fish ponds and running brooks.
When the fields are frozen all winter, imprisoning the seeds,
The pastures wither brown, tracks of cows and sheep vanish.
When the fish stagnate in the turbid shallows of the ponds,
The creeks grow mute, and they are now without a song.
The rain says:
I am coming,
I am coming to visit April's great earth.
I come, treading so lightly, and speak in tones warm and tender,
My love is like a delicate thread, weaving together heaven and earth.
I call every child by their baby name, tender and precise.
I am coming; thunder and lightning have stopped their roar and scream,
And there are no more rushing winds,
When I am near you will probably know.
Please don't open your lacquered umbrellas to keep me away.
Don't close your doors and windows, or lower your screens.
Don't hurry to throw on your straw raincoats or your bamboo hats.
The rain says, I am coming to the great earth to be near.
I am April's guest, bringing spring's baptism with me.
Why don't you raise your faces and let me caress.
Why don't you walk with me, following the rhythm of my steps?
Go with me to tread on the field, rich and softened like ointment,
Go and look at the pasture's new honeysuckle shoots,
Go around the pond and say hello to the fish,
And listen to the brooks that rehearse new washerwomen' songs.
The rain says:
I am coming,
I am coming from a place faraway.
Over there, mountains spike and clouds fill the sky;
I was once a child and, like you, I loved to play.
But I was lucky, and I grew up smiling in a cradle of white clouds.
The first lesson I want to leave you is to laugh courageously.
Can't you tell that the willow branches laugh madly to their knees?
When they see me?
The stone lions see me, laugh and tears run down their eyes.
The little swallows, see me, laugh till they slant their wings.
The second lesson is, again, to laugh courageously.
The flag clamors in boisterous laughter when it sees me,
Once it does, there will be voice of spring.
And when you laugh, there will be hope for the earth.
The rain says: I am coming, and once arrived I shall stay.
When you laugh freely, I will happily go to rest.
Someday, while you eat an apple and wipe your mouth,
Remember: that sweet taste on your tongue is from my heart's blessing.
雨 说
——为生活在中国大地上的儿童而歌
（雨说：四月已在大地上等待久了……）
等待久了的田圃跟牧场
等待久了的鱼塘和小溪
当田圃冷冻了一冬禁锢着种子
牧场枯黄失去牛羊的踪迹
当鱼塘寒浅留滞着游鱼
小溪渐渐喑哑歌不成调子
雨说，我来了，我来探访四月的大地
我来了，我走得很轻，而且温声细语地
我的爱心像丝缕那样把天地织在一起
我呼唤每一个孩子的乳名又甜又准
我来了，雷电不喧嚷，风也不拥挤
当我临近的时候你们也许知悉了
可别打开油伞将我抗拒
别关起你的门窗，放下你的帘子
别忙着披蓑衣，急着戴斗笠
雨说：我是到大地上来亲近你们的
我是四月的客人带来春的洗礼
为什么不扬起你的脸让我亲一亲
为什么不跟着我走，踩着我脚步的拍子？
跟着我去踩田圃的泥土将润如油膏
去看牧场就要抽发忍冬的新苗
绕着池塘跟跳跃的鱼儿说声好
去听听溪水练习新编的洗衣谣
雨说：我来了，我来的地方很遥远
那儿山峰耸立，白云满天
我也曾是孩子和你们一样地爱玩
可是，我是幸运的
我是在白云的襁褓中笑着长大的
第一样事儿，我要教你们勇敢地笑啊
君不见，柳条儿见了我笑弯了腰啊
石狮子见了我笑出了泪啊
小燕子见了我笑斜了翅膀啊
第二样事，我还是要教你们勇敢地笑
那旗子见了我笑得哗啦啦地响
只要旗子笑，春天的声音就有了
只要你们笑，大地的希望就有了
雨说：我来了，我来了就不再回去
当你们自由地笑了，我就快乐地安息
有一天，你们吃着苹果擦着嘴
要记着，你们嘴里的那份甜呀，就是我祝福的心意
***
Zheng Chou Yu. Since his extraordinary debut with《Above the Space of Dreams 》in 1955, Zheng Chouyu (Wen-tao Cheng) has become one of the most widely read and best loved poet in the Chinese language. His poems speak with the primordial language of the human soul and unlock the musicality of both the Chinese classic and vernacular language in a distinguished manor that clearly separates him from contemporary poets. He has published over 16 collections of poetry and has had his work translated into English, Japanese, Korean, German and French. He was the first poet invited from Taiwan to participate the world re-known International Writers Program at The University of Iowa in 1967 the founding year of the program, and later study in the English department (Creative Poetry Work Shop) at the University of Iowa received an MFA in 1972, and enter the PhD program of Journalism. He was a member of the Yale University faculty for over 30 years. His appointments also include Honorary Professor at the University of Hong Kong and Honorary Chair Professor at Ching Hua University. He is currently Chair Professor at National Quemoy University and Yale University Senior Faculty Emeritus, and also Poet in-Residence at Yale.
郑愁予，原名郑文韬，耶鲁大学驻校诗人及荣休教授。他1955 年出版第一本诗集《梦土上》，是中国最广受欢迎和最受喜爱的诗人之一。他的诗歌用人类灵魂的原始语言说话，将中国文言文和白话文相结合，开创了独特韵脚和节奏，令其在当代诗人中 脱颖而出。郑愁予已经出版诗集十六册，其中不少作品被翻译成英语、日语、韩语、德语和法语。1967年，美国爱荷华大学成立了著名的“国际作家写作计划”项目。郑愁予是中国台湾地区第一位受邀的华裔诗人。随后，郑愁予在爱荷华大学英文系“诗创工作坊”进修，于1972 年获文学硕士学位，继而升入该校新闻系继续攻读博士学位。郑愁予曾在耶鲁大学任教三十余年，退休后旋返亚洲，担任香港大学名誉教授和清华（新竹）大学荣誉讲座教授，目前为金门大学客座教授。
