THE OLD GARDEN

The old garden grows greener every day,
While mother’s hair turns whiter with time.
You and I, each at one end of our work,
Will we ever return to that garden again?

We are like the sun avoiding the rain,
Like the moon and the sun, forever apart,
Like the evening star and the morning star,
Will we ever return to that distant garden?

We are like summer’s lotus, autumn’s chrysanthemum,
Like October’s roses, May’s longans.
You follow the birds that leave in August,
I follow the birds that depart in March.

One spring day, you return home,
Mother tells you: “He was here, picking fruit.”
You look up at the branches swaying in the wind,
The leaves whisper softly, calling me back.

One summer day, I return home,
Mother tells me: “She was here, washing clothes by the well.”
I look at the well, deep and clear,
The water, like a mirror, reflects my lonely figure…

The old garden grows greener every day,
While mother’s hair turns whiter with time.
You and I, each at one end of our work,
Will we ever return to that garden again?


(dịch sang tiếng Anh)
Khi bạn so găng với cuộc đời, cuộc đời luôn luôn thắng (Andrew Matthews)