我如果爱你---
绝不像攀缘的凌霄花，
借你的高枝炫耀自己；
我如果爱你---
绝不学痴情的鸟儿，
为绿荫重复单调的歌曲；
也不止像泉源，
常年送来清凉的慰籍；
也不止像险峰，
增加你的高度，衬托你的威仪。
甚至日光。
甚至春雨。
不，这些都还不够！
我必须是你近旁的一株木棉，
做为树的形象和你站在一起。
根，紧握在地下，
叶，相触在云里。
每一阵风过，
我们都互相致意，
但没有人
听懂我们的语言。
你有你的铜枝铁干，
像刀，像剑，
也像戟；
我有我的红硕花朵，
像沉重的叹息，
又像英勇的火炬。
我们分担寒潮、风雷、霹雳；
我们共享雾霭、流岚、红霓，
仿佛永远分离，
却又终身相依。
这才是伟大的爱情，
坚贞就在这里：
不仅爱你伟岸的身躯，
也爱你坚持的位置，脚下的土地。
Ode to the Oak
Shu Ting
If I love you---
I will never be a trumpet creeper
Clinging to your body to highlight my height;
If I love you---
I will never be a spoony bird
Repeating the monotonous song for a green shade;
Nor a spring
That brings perennial cool solace;
Nor steep peak
That increases your highness, reflect your eminence.
Even the sunlight.
Even the spring rain.
No, all these are not sufficient!
I must be a ceiba stand by your side,
A tree
With roots clinched underground,
And leaves touched in the cloud.
We nod to each other,
When each gust passes by,
But nobody
Can understand our words.
You have your iron body,
Like a knife, a sword,
As well as a halberd;
I have my red flowers,
Like a heavy sigh,
And a valiant torch.
We share cold, storms and thunders;
We enjoy brume, mist and neons,
Seems we are part always,
But we are together forever.
Only this can be called a great love,
The loyalty is this:
Not only your manful body I love,
But also the place you hold, and the land under your foot.
