Relativism(相對論)

[曾美玲]

(一) 時間
像背負使命的風
騎著快馬拼命地衝
像滿載回憶的雲
搭乘小舟自在地搖
(1) Time
Like the wind carrying a mission,
It dashed desperately by riding a fast horse.
Like the cloud laden with memories,
It waved leisurely by taking a small boat.

(二)) 小草
挺直腰桿
迎向風雨鞭笞的青春
俯首沉思
沐浴夕陽祝禱的晚年
(2) The Grass
Straightening up,
It stood bravely against the weather-beaten youth.
Lowering the head,
It bathed itself in the blessed old age of sunset.

(三) 舞台劇
台上的演員
瘋狂演出別人的故事
台下的觀眾
清醒觀看自己的人生
(3) Drama
The actors on the stage
Madly put on a play of someone else’s story.
The audience off the stage
Calmly watched their own lives.

[若爾。諾爾]

Relativism is a philosophy of ethics which holds there is no absolute truth (or morality) but that everything is “real” or “true” relative to other situational reality or truth. My interpretation is as follows:

(1) Time
Westerners see time as a series of points or events by which we pass. The poet is viewing time as something that moves past us instead, sometimes slowly, sometimes “leisurely”, “like a cloud” laden with memories.” In other words we are relative to the concept of time. It is relative to our existence.

l2: I probably will choose to read as: "desperately it dashed desperately by riding a fast horse"

(2) The Grass
Grass can resist and be compliant, all in the same span of time. In the spring it raises up, but yet, at dusk (and in the fall) it bends down. Yet it is the same grass, taking on the characteristics of its environment and time. Grass is symbolic here of the human spirit.

l3: I probably will choose to read as: "lowering its head"

(3) Drama
Here the play, the course of people’s lives, is both viewed from an audience perspective as well as from the player’s perspective. People in life are both actors in the play and observers of it, and live their own lives yet look upon others’ lives as a play. Whether actor or observer, these positions are relative, and interchangeable, throughout life. Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage, and we are but players on it.” He was talking about the same concept.

Thank you for submitting your poems here. Best regards and keep it up!

(一) 時間
像背負使命的風
騎著快馬拼命地衝
像滿載回憶的雲
搭乘小舟自在地搖
(1) Time
Like the wind carrying a mission,
It dashed desperately by riding a fast horse.
Like the cloud laden with memories,
It waved leisurely by taking a small boat.

(二)) 小草
挺直腰桿
迎向風雨鞭笞的青春
俯首沉思
沐浴夕陽祝禱的晚年
(2) The Grass
Straightening up,
It stood bravely against the weather-beaten youth.
Lowering the head,
It bathed itself in the blessed old age of sunset.

(三) 舞台劇
台上的演員
瘋狂演出別人的故事
台下的觀眾
清醒觀看自己的人生
(3) Drama
The actors on the stage
Madly put on a play of someone else’s story.
The audience off the stage
Calmly watched their own lives.

[曾美玲]

Many thanks for your professional analysis of my poems and wonderful sharing!
I'm deeply impressed and touched!
Best regards!