Poetry from Hongri Yuan, translated into English by Manu Mangattu

Middle aged Chinese man in a tan jacket and black pants and a scarf standing on a city sidewalk in front of some trees and a tall red sculpture
Poet Hongri Yuan

Five Poems

By Chinese Poet Yuan Hongri

Translated by Manu Mangattu

The Song of the Universe – Thy Song

Sweet soul,

Let thy breath be sweet

Let thine eyes shine as the stars

Reflect about what thou shalt see!

Thou shalt forget the words

The song of the universe is thy song

The peace of the universe is thy peace

If thou shall speak

It is almost like God

Let there be light! And there was light.

宇宙的歌声是你的歌声

甜美的灵魂

让你的呼吸甜美

让你的眼晴多如星辰

想想吧  那时你将看到什么

你将忘了词语

宇宙的歌声是你的歌声

宇宙的宁静是你的宁静

如果你说话

那就如同上帝

要有光  于是就有了光

On Angel Wings Heaven-Bound

Pluck out a star from the night sky above

And let it sing to you within your cranium

It shall bring to you the interplanetary song.

Let thine eyes reach the edge of the Milky Way

The earth is just a small stone;

Yesterday is just a butterfly.

When the angel wings conduct you to the Kingdom of Heaven

Ah! That sweet lightning will indeed make you forget the world.

当天使的翅翼驮来了天国

摘一颗星辰在夜空之上

让它在你的头颅里歌唱

它将带给你星际的乐曲

让你的目光抵达  末来的银河之城

地球只是一枚小小的石头

昨日只是一只蝴蝶

当天使的翅翼驮来了天国

哦  那甜蜜的闪电让你把世界遗忘

Home Sweet Home beyond Milky Way

Nestled in the wings of night

After the pearl gem sets in heaven

I climb to the roof of the earth

To gaze at the star.

Gazing at the star,

To witness the coming century, the city of the giant

Blossom like a silver Garden.

The Music from that mysterious Galaxy

Soothes my soul like the rain.

In the light, let my form alight

Back to my home, beyond the Milky Way.

2015.9.9

银河之外的家园

黑夜的翅翼

镶嵌了天堂的珍珠宝石

我在地球的屋顶之上

向星际凝望

仿佛看见未来世纪的巨城

绽放如白银的花园

来自神秘星系的乐曲

是一阵阵灵魂的甘雨

让我的身体乘光而行

回到了那银河之外的家园

Day and Night in Kingdom of Heaven

Last night, gazing at the stars

I saw those countless gems smile

Numberless from my past life

Limitless in the silver kingdom

Sprang from the light of thought

Forging ahead to superluminal chi

Five hundred years later, or, may I say

After a thousand five hundred years of the world

I saw a giant of a spacecraft

The eyes of those men and women

Were tranquil, serene as a diamond

Then I knew, once and forever: On the new planet,

In the Kingdom of Heaven, there is neither day nor night.

2016.2.8

没有昼夜的天国

昨夜仰望星空

我看见无数个笑容

无数个我的前世

无数个白银的王国

思想的光芒

以超光速驰来

我看见了五百年后

一千五百年后的世界

我看见乘坐飞船的巨人

男男女女的眼睛

宁静的钻石

新的星球之上

没有昼夜的天国

 2016.2.8

Distant Heaven

Often I have a foretaste of the future city of the giant.

The young giants in platinum Villas

The young giants in and out of the great mansion in platinum

And I’m one of them

In the body the sacred flame burns

On the head flickers the signs of zodiac

And the Diamond eyes glimpse the distant kingdom of heaven!

2015.12.28

遥远的天国

我常常看见那未来的巨人之城

那年轻的巨人们  进出于白金巨厦

而我是他们其中的一位

身体里燃烧神圣的火焰

头颅里闪烁巨多的星座

钻石般的目光仿佛看见遥远的天国

Bio: Yuan Hongri (born 1962) is a renowned Chinese mystic, poet, and philosopher. His work has been published in the UK, USA, India, New Zealand, Canada, and Nigeria; his poems have appeared in Poet’s Espresso Review, Orbis, Tipton Poetry Journal, Harbinger Asylum, The Stray Branch, Acumen, Pinyon Review, Taj Mahal Review, Madswirl, Shot Glass Journal, Amethyst Review, The Poetry Village, and other e-zines, anthologies, and journals. His best known works are Platinum City and Golden Giant. His works explore themes of prehistoric and future civilization.

South Asian middle aged man with brown hair and a small beard. Blue collared shirt.
Poet Hongri Yuan

About the Translator

Manu Mangattu is an English Professor, poet, editor, director and rank-holder. He has published 7 books, 73 research articles and 36 conference papers apart from 14 edited volumes with ISBN. He serves as chief editor/editor for various international journals. He has done UGC funded projects and a SWAYAM-MOOC course (Rs 15 lakhs). Besides translations from Chinese and Sanskrit, he writes poetry in English as well as in Indian languages. He was named “Comrade to Poetry China” in 2016. A visiting faculty at various universities and a quintessential bohemian-vagabond, he conducts poetry readings, workshops and lectures when inspired. After an apprenticeship in Shakespeare under Dr. Stephen Greenblatt, he currently guides 23 research scholars and mentors NET English aspirants.