Hai Zi, mystic poet – to face the sea…
and have flowers in spring...
From tomorrow on, be a happy man
Raise horses, chop wood, see the world.
From tomorrow on, care about food and vegetables
I will have a house, facing the sea, and flowers in spring.
From tomorrow on, write to all my family
Tell them of my happiness
This spark of joy, its message
I will let everyone know
Give every river, every mountain, a warm name
You too, stranger, I wish you the best
Wish you a brilliant future
Wish you everlasting love
Wish you happiness in this world
Me, I just want to face the sea, and have flowers in spring.
Hai Zi
海 子
从 明 天 起 ， 做 一 个 幸 福 的 人
喂 马 ， 劈 柴 ， 周 游 世 界
从 明 天 起 ， 关 心 粮 食 和 蔬 菜
我 有 一 所 房 子 ， 面 朝 大 海 ， 春 暖 花 开
从 明 天 起 ， 和 每 一 个 亲 人 通 信
告 诉 他 们 我 的 幸 福
那 幸 福 的 闪 电 告 诉 我 的
我 将 告 诉 每 一 个 人
给 每 一 条 河 每 一 座 山 取 一 个 温 暖 的 名 字
陌 生 人 ， 我 也 为 你 祝 福
愿 你 有 一 个 灿 烂 的 前 程
愿 你 有 情 人 终 成 眷 属
愿 你 在 尘 世 获 得 幸 福
我 只 愿 面 朝 大 海 ， 春 暖 花 开
This is a very different style from my usual but I thought it suited this simple yet wistful poem. Haizi is a 20th century Chinese poet with a sad story…
Unfortunately, I don’t have the name of the translator/poet for this English version.
image (cc) 2010 Hilary Farmer
2010/10/01 at 11:55 am
You captured the poet’s likeness, and probably his mood at the time too!
2010/10/01 at 7:48 pm
Thanks Max – that’s what I was really aiming for this time…
2010/10/11 at 8:25 pm
As I said on the weekend, I really like this, both the poem and the drawing.
I wasn’t aware of the poet’s history, but even without it the sense in the image of him fading away into the ocean, facing the sea with flowers in his hand, speaks to me deeply.
The poem itself is such a wonderful expression of universal good will couched in the characteristically concrete terms of so much Chinese poetry. He speaks of abstractions–happiness and love and whatnot–but also tells us what that means to him in a crisp and definite way.
Very beautiful, and you’ve captured it wonderfully.
2010/10/12 at 8:07 am
Thank you Tom. The poem and the poet touched me. I’m glad the drawing in some way was able to capture that.
2011/02/25 at 9:37 pm
[…] Inspired in part by this poem by Hai Zi and Hilary’s image, although for the record I’m planning on carrying those burdens for many years to come. But they are with me every day, and some days they weigh more heavily than others. […]