Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again

by Xu Zhimo

　　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.