小池塘

小池塘

白九 2025.2.19

 

小园小池塘，
不深，不大，
绕一圈，几步就走完；
不像那些池塘，
我要跑上一阵，才能回到原点。

 

铺上一块防水布，

就是池壁池底；
不像那些池塘，
每年都要清理淤泥。

 

倒几桶水，

就成了汹涌波涛；
不像那些池塘，
要用机器，才能抽干见底。

 

几担泥土，

就够莲藕扎根了；
不像那些池塘，
挖出的淤泥可以散到田里做肥料。

 

几十条小鱼，
已是满池金光闪耀；
不像那些池塘，
撒下网，沉到拉不起。

 

放几枝藕，
就有了满池荷花；
不像那些池塘，
香飘十里扰邻村。

 

池边撒些草籽，
长成一层无争的绿色；
不像那些池塘，
岸边一圈垂柳，和春水争春光。

 

我的小池塘，此时、此地；

那些大池塘，那时、那里。

 

Little Pond

 

By Bai Jiu

 

I dug a hole, not deep, not wide,
A place so small to stand beside.
Not like the pond I used to know,
Where I could run a loop, not slow.

 

A single sheet to hold the ground,
To keep the water safe and sound.
Not like the pond so vast and deep,
Where seasons carved its earthen keep.

 

A bucket poured, the water thin,
A quiet pool to drift within.
Not like the pond where rains would fall,
And filled its heart so free, so tall.

 

A handful of the richest clay,
Enough to plant, enough to stay.
Not like the mud that lined the shore,
A farmer’s gift, a garden’s store.

 

I placed a fish, a flash, a gleam,
A little world, a golden dream.
Not like the swarm that used to glide,
A silver wave so wild, so wide.

 

I set some leaves upon the tide,
A lotus small, its bloom my guide.
Not like the fields of pink that swayed,
A thousand suns in green arrayed.

 

I lined the edge with tender grass,
A quiet touch as seasons pass.
Not like the willows tall and bright,
That wove their shade in golden light.

 

My little pond, here, now,
The large ones, there, then.