This is the original English translation of the renowned Chinese poem 《也許》(meaning Maybe) by Abby Lu.
Original Chinese:
《也許》 聞一多
也許你真是哭得太累，
也許，也許你要睡一睡，
那麼叫夜鷹不要咳嗽，
蛙不要號，蝙蝠不要飛。
不許陽光撥你的眼簾，
不許清風刷上你的眉，
無論誰都不能驚醒你，
撐一傘松蔭庇護你睡，
也許你聽這蚯蚓翻泥，
聽這小草的根鬚吸水，
也許你聽這般的音樂，
比那咒罵的人聲更美；
那麼你先把眼皮閉緊，
我就讓你睡，我讓你睡，
我把黃土輕輕蓋著你，
我叫紙錢兒緩緩的飛。
English Translation:
Maybe, Wen Yiduo
Maybe you’re too tired from crying,
maybe, you need to sleep for a bit,
then tell the nighthawk not to cough,
the frog not to croak, the bat not to soar.
The sunlight shall not disturb the curtains of your eyelids,
the zephyr shall not brush up on your eyebrows,
not a single person shall startle you,
I lift an umbrella of pine canopy to shield your slumber,
Maybe you listen to the worms sifting soil,
listen to the roots of small grasses absorbing water,
maybe you find listening to this kind of singing,
more beautiful than human voices cursing;
Then first shut your eyelids tightly,
I’ll let you sleep, I’ll let you sleep,
I’ll tuck you in with yellow loess lightly,
I’ll tell the paper money to fly gently.
The Big Duck 