(1985年春节)
气鲜雾大
小鸟唱枝桠
逐随学舌惊跑它
原非伉俪对答
世间道路多岔
单骑催征无暇
何日芳尘溅马
奋蹄并辔齐驾
Morning Meditation
(1985, Spring Festival)
The air was refreshing in a foggy morning.
I heard singing of a bird perching on a branch.
Curious, I turned to her to imitate the singing.
Startled, she fluttered away.
Alas, she is not my kind.
The world is laced with crossroads of choice.
A lone knight has no time to pace around,
Yet yearns to stumble upon a life companion,
Thenceforth galloping forward side by side.
____________________________________
无题二首
(1985 年春天)
掀衾往日免迟起
恋枕而今恐梦逝
俏样执卷郎君伴
甜吻乐酬原解疑
心曲悦耳绵绵语
如何内外好操持
业就孺龙情意笃
不待霜染两鬓时
Random Thoughts
(Spring of 1985)
Once an early riser popping from under quilt,
Lest I might be late after the daybreak
Now a pillow-clinging sleepy head
Fearing interruption of my sweet dreams.
I dreamed of her reading by my side,
Kissing me affectionately in joyful abandonment,
To reward me for witty untangling of a puzzle.
She poured through my attentive ears
Her heart's desire and wishes
On how to manage a family well, in and out,
Hoping for an all-round success
In career, children, and love,
Well before the hairs turn silver gray.
羊城忘度江夏雨
去鸿来燕两不宜
窗前凝眉舞男女
檐角侧耳笑二丽
本来无事便无聊
没事找事也愁思
天马偏往野牛城
佳人款笑自依依
City of Canton where I am
Does not forecast the rainfall
At the City of Wuhan where she lives.
Likewise, the love letters I sent her
Failed to beget reciprocating passion.
The happy couples dancing outside my window
Dazed me to a frozen eyebrow;
Two laughing girls walking by the dorm
Sensitized my nerves in my ears.
No one to love is cause for loneliness to feel;
Trying to find love gets me into lovesickness unbearable.
Behold the day to come soon,
When the heavenly knight shall gallop off toward Buffalo.
His acquiescent princess only smiles
And remains to stay in her killing cool.
____________________________________
与SHIRLEY同登黄鹤楼
(1985-7-2)
黄鹤几度秋
百事汇江流
古曲俞氏弄
新歌我自奏
高塔接广宇
长桥卧鸿沟
异土归来日
应期胜景求
Visiting Huang He Lou in Wuhan
(1985-7-2)
The tower had been demolished
And rebuilt several times in history,
As testified by the mighty Yangtze River
Flowing past one generation after another.
An ancient poet once penned down his old elegy.
I am about to compose a new song.
The tall TV tower points to the heavens;
The long bridge connects the chasm.
But by the day when I shall return,
Renewed scenery will be far more breathtaking.
_______________________________________
与宇光、思源同游颐和园
(1985-7-21)
曾经胭脂水
我辈乱放舟
两岸蝉声噪
通园游客稠
娇儿背上泳
倩影匣中留
苦了周谭伴
奈何仍孤独
Visiting Yi He Yuan in Beijing with Yuguang and Siyuan
(1985-7-21)
Once the water was filled with the rouge of concubines.
Now my contemporaries are having wanton boating fun.
Cicadas are crying from the lakeside forest.
Hordes of people are crowding the Park.
Lads are swimming by riding on adults' backs.
Couples are posing for pictures after pictures.
Even with Mr. Zhou and Mr. Tan as my companions,
I could not help feeling a lonely soul.
__________________________________________
七律：一九八五年八月十日晨离京赴美前
雷鸣电闪雨点稠
漫步楼中话无由
准拟天公恩又许
难度淑女泪复流
时时翘首为黄鹤
日日埋头是野牛
枉也汪洋诚万古
七七夜里荡归舟
On the Day of Leaving Beijing for USA
(1985-8-10)
Thundering,
Lightning,
And pouring rain
Beckoned with total silence inside the dorm.
Probably the Heavenly Father granted me grace once more.
Perhaps the virtuous princess was shedding tears again.
Time and again, she will lift her head up to the heavens;
Day and night, I shall bury my head in the books.
Despite the vast and old Pacific Ocean that separates us,
I shall make good my promise to return to her.
________________________________________
清平乐：为李想题
(1985-9-17)
张帆欲渡
猛觉人孤独
借问仙姑春何住
笑允此生同路
贱斯窃走樱花
盛嚣纷起珞珈
失料行空野马
早筹奉赏金它
To Shirley My Love
(1985-9-17)
I was ready to set sail
When a sudden loneliness gripped me.
May I ask you where lies your pristine love?
In smile you nodded to walk with me for a lifetime.
Thus came the unsettling news:
One cherry beauty queen of the campus
was taken captive by an underclass.
For all apparently failed to grasp
My long-standing, covetous love for you.
_________________________________
七律：为准夫人所赠三峡石而作
(1985年秋)
倒海翻江梦中事
登山击水已躬尝
三峡胜处留丽影
卷帙行中绘彩杠
欢颜常驻咱李想
浓眉总锁大潇湘
恢宏造化人竞骛
未垦天地我拓荒
For the Pebble Collected by Her From the Three-Gorge River
(Fall of 1985)
Diving and surfing remain my dream sports;
Mountain climbing and river treading are already your experience.
You record your own beauty by the best photo spots in Three-Gorge;
I underline and add margin notes in my voluminous books of reading.
Cheerfulness often dwells in your heart;
Soberness is written on my eyebrows.
Common people travel on easy roads;
virgin land is left for me to trek and plow.
_____________________________________
七绝：为玉照书签题
(1985年秋)
雨打风飕秋夜冷
孤灯只影读书忙
谁愁马克肠千转
卷内佳人正靓妆
To Her in the Handmade Photo Bookmark
(Fall of 1985)
Rain is beating.
Wind is howling.
The autumn night becomes chilling.
The only desk lamp
Casts a single silhouette
For an avid reader
Guess who is stirring up
The love passion within him?
None other than the comely girl
Featured in her elegantly graced
Photo bookmark.
_____________________________________
南歌子：为李想同志题所摄三峡照 (一)
(1985年秋)
脚底三峡水
抬头尽蔚霞
蜀云深处正芳华
含笑树边了望
妾思他
To Her in the Three-Gorge Photos (1)
(Fall of 1985)
The river flows under her feet.
The clouds drift away just above her head.
A pretty girl stands deep in the Sichuan territory,
Gazing and smiling by a tree.
Guess what?
She must be thinking of me!
__________________________________
五律：为李想同志题所摄三峡照 (二)
(1985年秋)
金果无人食
非因画廊疏
蓝襟暗蜀色
玉趾惊峡流
仰止翠娥面
横生山水羞
如斯千代女
定有好君逑
To Her in the Three-Gorge Photos (2)
(Fall of 1985)
The golden delicious is not eaten
Not because no one is in the pictures.
Her blue sweater outshines the Sichuan scenery;
Her jade toes startles the Gorge water flow.
Looking up to her imposing beauty,
Even the mountains bow down in humility.
Such is the girl once in a thousand years,
Only to be matched by an unrivaled gentleman.
______________________________________
五绝：为李想同志题所摄岳阳君山照
(1985年秋)
两泓秋水深
一脉君山情
芳草天涯尽
我心只一人
To Her in the Mount Junshan Photo
(Fall of 1985)
Your two eyes are like deep water ponds in late fall.
Your love is like the mountain range of Junshan.
Even though beauty is found to the ends of the earth,
My heart is all for you, and for you only.
________________________________________
七绝：无题
(1985年秋)
连篇尽诉分离苦
未忘佳丽锁古国
学子负笈行又远
长鞭莫举柰人何
Random Thoughts
(Fall of 1985)
Letter upon letter,
We lament on the suffering of separation,
Thinking of you still in old country.
I sojourned afar with a mission,
But powerless to meet each other
As we so desperately wish.
____________________________
忆江南：躬致歉
(1985.11.26 晨)
苍天怒
一夜勤飞雪
应记昨日黄鹤诉
准是玉泪凝地裂
鸿儒更心切
My Apology
(1985-11-26 morning)
The heaven poured out indignation
By befalling snow the whole night.
Oh yes, I remember her complaint yesterday.
It then must be her tears
That had turned into the land-cracking icy snow.
Oh dear, this makes me all the more sorrowful and anxious
_________________________________________________
念奴娇：感恩雪
(1985-11-28)
牛城冬雪
和风声、喜庆感恩佳节
薄锦清影全不顾
学子出庵献热
物舍换颜
车蓬批练
街道无新辙
普里茅斯
当年同此景色？
总忆请餐秀姑
操坪酣战
行吟"珞珈雪"
彼乐已逝不复有
凭问桂子可得？
运遣经纶
浇灌桃李
与妹过耄耋
爱情永固
胜似瑞雪高洁
Thanksgiving Day Snow
(1985-11-28)
Buffalo's winter snow
Came down with a gusty wind,
To celebrate my first thanksgiving.
Despite the skimpy clothing over my skinny frame
I ventured out to give off heat.
All houses are bleached;
All cars are buried;
All neighborhood streets are not trekked upon.
Perhaps Plymouth of Mayflower pilgrims
Saw some of the same winter scene?
I recall the day to dine with her,
The day to play contentious soccer,
The day to compose Luojia snow poem.
Those funs are long gone.
Now I begin asking when to father a child;
I envision:
My scholarly research breaks ground;
My teaching the next generation bears fruition;
My companionship with you lasts until death at an old age.
May our love remains true
And as sanctified as the pure white snow.
___________________________________
采桑子-无题
(1986.2.8. 午)
佳人何事香尘绝
昨日无讯
今又无讯
莫许黄龙克虎生?
歌台舞榭春池易
正赏荧屏
不赏荧屏
孤旅天涯步方寸
Random Thoughts
(1986-2-8 noon)
Why is she not heard from recently?
No letter yesterday;
Even none again today.
Might this signal a bad omen?
It is now the Chinese spring festival season.
She might be watching the TV programs there.
But I have no interest in any TV program.
I am like a worrisome, lone ranger
Pacing around aimlessly in my solitary lot.
____________________________________
归国谣.长相盼
(1986.4.3)
空抱怨
雪隐春归无信雁
只缘昨夜吉梦断
夕阳瞩我明日见
长相盼
逢章遇节皆释卷
Longing to Get News From Her
(1986-4-3)
All in vain I am complaining.
The snowy winter has gone;
The spring is back;
Yet, I got no message from her for a long while.
Perhaps I did not dream a sweet dream last night.
The setting sun promises me to hope for tomorrow.
Oh I am yearning to get words from her.
I cannot help but thinking of her,
Putting down my book
Once every page and in a short while.
________________________________
念奴娇：为BUFFALO春天而作
(1986-5-3)
红桃绿柳
值春日、寄梦古园荆楚
待问春天此地有
四月竟吐白乳
寒风瑟瑟
枯木依旧
病装著贫儒
先知如此
天马何之牛埠
终于树萌草青
人欢地暖
遍地奔松鼠
三点不遮两曲度
漂亮姑娘谁数
雨燕未归
落花正舞
俄尔春将暮
恋春无主
只为黄鹤倾诉
For Buffalo Spring
(1986-5-3)
Peaches must be blooming;
Willows must be leafing.
That should be my hometown's spring now.
My nostalgia strikes again.
But is Buffalo really in spring?
It just snowed in April.
It was still quite chilly here.
Most of the trees remained leafless.
I still dressed in my wintry clothes.
Had I known this long cold season,
I would not have come here.
Thankfully the spring arrived.
Trees are budding.
Grass is greening.
People are enlivened.
Earth is receiving her due of warmth.
Squirrels are running everywhere.
Three-piece swimsuites are highlighting the shapely bodies
Of countless pretty girls basking in the sunshine.
Yet, the spring swallows have not returned;
The flowers are already dancing their ways to the ground.
What a short spring season here!
It is hopeless to stop the inevitable.
My heart refocuses again to long for her only.
___________________________________
诉衷情：思念李想
(1986-6-1 晨)
适才泰岳许娇闺
半月雁不回
分明马克愁死
白发恋情催
牵好梦
枕香帏
总相偎
盛装无比
才子佳人
共赏江梅
Thinking About Her
(1986-6-1 early morning)
Her parents just blessed our engagement.
But nothing came from her for half a month.
This really cooks anxiety within me.
Lonesome love multiplies my gray hairs.
Yet, I keep dreaming of her
Cuddling with me romantically
On our aromatic canopy bed.
I dream about a day
When a pair of genteel man and fair lady,
Dressed up in opulent attires,
Survey and smell the intoxicating hometown plums
__________________________________
七绝：念李想
(1986-8-2 作于纽约根红家，回国结婚前)
沉睡一夜梦不见
几忘江城八月天
难得巴扇摇扶处
佳人彻夜不曾眠
Thinking About Her
(1986-8-2, at Mr. Genhong Cheng's apartment in NYC, before leaving for China to marry her)
What a deep sleep without a dream last night!
I almost forgot it is now burning hot August in Wuhan.
I bet she had a sleepless night,
Swinging her fan to stay cool all night long.