English translation (AI-generated)

The ceaseless ticking of Big Ben
tells all of a city’s bewilderment and sorrow.
The glittering ripples of the Thames
record the birth of the first lamp, and a fond looking-back.
Looking back, looking back — how much longing does history still hold?

In the carved and painted financial city,
those who love money like life crowd together.
Hungry children
still wander the streets —
wandering, wandering — to what place are they bound?

Dazzling, kaleidoscopic theatre,
jewels in bewildering array,
all gathered in this paradise of the rich.
People drawn here by its fame
carry ambition and yearning in their eyes.
In this greedy place,
who would not bow their back for five pecks of rice?

The sun —
here, it is the afterglow of dusk,
the glory of an empire;
there, it is a red sun slowly rising,
the hope of a newborn day.

London’s moonlight lights the footprints I have walked.
The late-night study is a voyage of hope and dreams.
Dwelling in London, how could I drown in fame and forget to return?
Without the great swan’s ambition, why feel shame to tread so far west?

Homeland’s gate, stay open for me always.
O magnolia tree in the garden,
do not let the flowers and grasses block out the sun;
grow with all your strength toward the uttermost, boundless heights,
so that I, forever gazing into the distance,
may know the way home even in a foreign land.

16 September 2021, in Fuzhou

大本钟的阵阵滴答，

说尽一座城市的迷茫与忧伤

泰晤士河的粼粼波光，

记载着第一盏灯的诞生与美好的回望

回望，回望，历史还留有多少渴望？

雕梁画栋的金融城里，

爱钱如命的人济济一堂

饿着肚子的孩童，

依然在街上流浪

流浪，流浪，他们究竟要到哪个地方？

绚丽缤纷的戏剧，

琳琅满目的珠宝，

尽汇聚在这富人的天堂

闻道而来的人们，

眼里尽是抱负与向往

在这贪婪的地方，

何人不为五斗米而折腰？

太阳，

在这里，是黄昏的余晖，

帝国的荣光

在那里，是冉冉升起的红日，

初生的希望

伦敦的月光，将走过的足迹照亮。

深夜的书房，是希望与梦想的远航

身处伦敦，怎能因功名而醉心忘返

若无鸿鹄之志，何羞以远踏西洋？

家乡的大门，请时时为我敞开

花园里的玉兰树呀，

莫让花草遮住了阳光

务必全力向无所至极处生长

让时时向远处眺望的我，

在异乡也能认得家的方向

2021年9月16日于福州