Sonnet
John Tranter (约翰.特兰特)
The famous Chinese poet finds a home at last
on the Northern Border. The troops， those
still loyal to the Emperor， those few
not frozen or shot， weave the pattern of battle
they have devised with tired economy.
Years ago they rode out into the Northern Border
to find a desert， bleached bones and arrows.
Somewhere someone waits for them， but not for long.
And already the famous Chinese poet
has sent back to Tientsin for green wine
and writing paper， though he presents a bland front.
The soldiers loathe his ideology， but his mind
fixes on a young disciple， and the image of the moon
"glowing like a skull in the waters of the Yellow River."
十四行诗
译者 / 马祖毅 马霞
著名的中国诗人最终定居在北边。
那里的三军将士仍然效忠于王室，
他们或冻死或阵亡存者寥寥无几。
因为粮草匮乏打仗只能量力而行，
他们仔细策划着一次战役的规模。
多年之前他们跃马横戈奔赴北边，
却见到莽莽黄沙遍地白骨和遗镞。
据说有人在那里等候却为时不长。
著名的中国诗人已遣人返回京城，
去取来竹叶青美酒和写诗的纸墨。
他认为前线无大事不足引起焦愁，
将士们却难苟同他这种思维方式。
他一心想栽培那年轻的受业门徒，
赞赏其咏月佳句“黄河水中颅骨光”。
