于坚·《在西部荒野中看见火车》英译

那时我们站在旷野中间  以色列在西  莫高窟在北

仿佛从水里出来  火车再次开出大漠或者开回

摩西在车头上唱着歌  电线杆望尘莫及

车厢蠕动着  黑色的链条在滑出大地的轮子

不知道它运走了什么  不知道它运来过什么

我们站在旷野中间  捡起石块又扔掉

等着它走完剩下的铁轨  就像从未被运走的远古之人

Watching a Train in the Western Wilderness

Yu Jian

At that time we stood in the milled of the wilderness

Israel persisted to the West

the Mogao Caves to the North

As if coming forth from between the waters

for a second time

the steam train appeared from the Gobi

or disappeared into it

Moses was on the footplate singing psalms

wooden pylons watched the dust

but couldn’t catch it

The carriages shivered and snaked

black pistons drove the wheels round

Not knowing what was being carried away

what was being carried back

we stood in the middle of the wilderness

picking up stones

then casting them aside

waiting for the train to pass over the remaining rails

as if the earliest people had never been carried away

（W. N. Herbert and Yu Jian 译）