In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,

五月的海风把孤独吹散，

I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,

我发现林中新开的杜鹃，

Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,

无叶的花朵伴随潮湿幽僻绽放，

To please the desert and the sluggish brook.

让荒凉慵懒的小溪愁眉舒展。

The purple petals, fallen in the pool,

落入池中的紫色花瓣，

Made the black water with their beauty gay;

让忧郁的池水换上美丽欢快的容颜;

Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool.

红鸟飞来这里浸润羽毛，

And court the flower that cheapens his array.

定会自愧不如把此花眷恋。

Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why

杜鹃！如果圣哲对你发出疑问，

This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,

为何在天地之间枉费你的娇艳，

Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,

亲爱的，那你就直言相告，

Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:

美丽存在只因眼睛天生为了观看。

Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!

为何来到世上，你这玫瑰的劲敌！

I never thought to ask, I never knew:

我浑然不知，也不想打探：

But, in my simple ignorance, suppose

但我只能浅薄地推测，

The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.

造就你我的是同一上天。