An Amber

By Cheng Lie

I dreamt of an amber
the blood-red quickly made the night even more profound.
Seemed to be in a moment, on the compass of time
night and day had passed fifty million cycles.

Through that prehistoric forest
beyond brown roots and clay
two hundred big trees were decadent
but the other hundred thousand still untouched.

A beetle consuming rhythmically
it came by the waves,
marching at that same instant as dusk or early morning
life updated  as well as a prayer.

A melted pine resin became concluding remark of the road
the pace of a marching person, instantly fixed in the air,
firmly configuring the sequence of death
quietly, time waited in the small kingdom of amber.

(however, I am the very one who forgets;
I am the rock that fills the universe
--before the god of darkness closes his scroll
please let me be the Moon's Goldsmith.)

I know nothing will be here that called equilibrium
that can counteract coherence from universal universe
--without the so-called Heaven and Hell, the only thing
we can choose, is just to wander around the world. 

2005/ translated by Chen Zihong

琥珀

程烈

我梦见一只琥珀
血色迅速抬高夜晚的深度。
似乎是一个刹那，在时间的罗盘上
夜与昼已经度过了五千万个循环。

穿过一片史前的森林
在褐色根块与黏土之间
两百棵大树已经颓废
而十万棵仍然完好。

一只甲虫有节奏地消耗着
它乘着波浪而来，
行进在黄昏或清晨同样需要的时刻
生活更新如同祷告。

一枚熔化的松脂成为道路的终点
一个前进者的步伐，瞬间在空气中定格，
时间坚韧地排出死亡的序列
它静候在琥珀的国度。

（然而，我才是遗忘，
我才是填满宇宙的顽石
——在黑暗之神合上他的卷帙以前
请让我成为月亮的金匠。）

我知道这里并没有一种均衡
能够免除万能的宇宙所带来的向心力
——没有天堂和地狱的所谓，我们唯一
能够选择的，仅仅是人间的徘徊。 

2005年