Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again


Very quietly I take my leave

As quietly as I came here;

Quietly I wave good-bye

To the rosy clouds in the western sky.


The golden willows by the riverside

Are young brides in the setting sun;

Their reflections on the shimmering waves

Always linger in the depth of my heart.


The floating heart growing in the sludge

Sways leisurely under the water;

In the gentle waves of Cambridge

I would be a water plant!


That pool under the shade of elm trees

Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky;

Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds

Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream?


To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream

To where the green grass is more verdant;

Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight

And sing aloud in the splendour of starlight.


But I cannot sing aloud

Quietness is my farewell music;

Even summer insects keep silence for me

Silent is Cambridge tonight!


Very quietly I take my leave

As quietly as I came here;

Gently I flick my sleeves

Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away

This is poem was written by one of the greatest poets of China----Xu Zhimo,whom i love most,and was translated into english.it is really beautiful in Chinese,even be included in our text book for Middle school students.