两度前往观莲，风景各异，心情亦殊。遂作此诗，以为纪念。

The Beauty in the Water

 Zhang Guilian

Water lily,
I’d rather call you the beauty in the water.
Just as your name —
your pure grace steals my sight, ever after.

That day, I went to see you,
on a late, gray afternoon.
Some of you had fallen into sleep,
others half asleep,

and only a few remained awake.
You swayed with the wave in the breeze,
I stood there for a long while,
appreciating your inborn grace,
and your faintly fragile beauty.
I seemed to enter Monet’s Garden.
Tenderness stirred in my heart,
with a vague sense of sorrow.

Last week, I went to see you again.
You were glowing in the sunlight,
flaunting your beauty at will —
colorful, vivid, bright,
just like a maiden in delight,
showing off her youthful charm.
I seemed to step into a dream
where every flower is a sprite.
They giggled, whispered, danced.
Their beauty took my sight.
I felt the happiness they showed.

It is such a pleasure to meet you.
It is a relief to know such beauty lies there,
quietly breathing in the water,
weaving an irreplaceable grace —
a gift that only belongs to summer.

睡莲，

我宁愿唤你作水中的美人。

正如你的名字——

你纯洁的风姿，

从此夺去了我的目光。

那一日，我去看你，

在一个迟暮的、灰蒙蒙的午后。

有些已安然睡去，

有些半梦半醒，

只有少数几朵还醒着。

你在微风中随波轻摇，

我伫立良久，

欣赏你天生的优雅，

和你那隐约透着脆弱的美。

我仿佛走进了莫奈的花园。

柔情在心中泛起，

伴着一缕淡淡的忧伤。

上周，我又去看你。

你在阳光下熠熠生辉，

恣意地展露着你的美——

斑斓、鲜活、明亮，

宛如一位喜悦的少女，

炫耀着她的青春魅力。

我仿佛步入一个梦境，

那里每一朵花都是精灵。

她们咯咯轻笑，窃窃私语，翩翩起舞。

她们的美让我沉醉。

她们的快乐漫上了我的心头。

遇见你，实乃人间乐事。

得知这般美好的存在，安睡于水中，

便是一种慰藉——

她在水波深处静静吐纳，

编织着一种不可替代的雅致，

一份仅属于夏日的馈赠。

张贵莲，女，现年45岁，山西太原人，现在一英文出版社工作，喜欢中英文诗歌创作，作品多见于内部刊物。