If the National Day brings anything concrete to me, it's a little bit more time of my own. I can go back to what I love most. Following my first glimpse of Rilke's German poetry, I am eager to see what he has got to offer of a suitable length for me to work on this morning in his French poems. He stayed in France for quite some time and I am surprised to find that he produced, not a few but some 400 poems written in French! Here's one that I have chosen to translate: La Fontaine (The fountain 噴泉)
La Faontaine The Fountain 噴泉
Je ne veux qu'une seule leçon, c'est la tiene, I just want one lesson and it's yours, 我只想學一課，你的，
fontaine, qu en toi-même retombes-- fountain, falling back into yourself-- 噴泉，那重投自身的--
celle des eaux risquées auxquelles incombe that of risked waters on which depends 那從上天回歸地下生活所賴之
ce céleste retour vers la vie terriene. this celestial return toward earthly life. 冒險之水。
Autant que ton multiple murmure Nothing would serve as example 沒有比你的多樣細訴
rien ne saurait me servir d'exemple: as much as your multiple murmur: 更切合模範
toi, ô colonne légère du temple you, O light column of a temple 你，噢 廟宇輕盈之柱
qui se détruit par sa propre nature. that destroys itself by nature. 隨自性而自毀。
Dans ta chute, combien se module In your fall, how each jet of water 在你下墮中，每一水柱
chaque jet d'eau qui termine sa danse. models itself as it ends its dance. 多麼依樣終斷其舞。
Que je me sens l'élève, l'émule How I feel like a student, imitator 模仿它那無數細絲般差別時
de ton inommbrable nuance! of your innumerable nuance!. 我感覺多像學童！
Mais ce qui plus que ton chant vers toi me décide But what turns me towards you more than your song但使我靠向你的莫過于
c'est cet instant d'un silence en délire is that instant of ecstatic silence when 那一頃刻歇斯底里的寂靜
lorsq'à la nuit, à travers ton élan linquide at night, with a breath, your own 在夜裡一息間你的回程消失
pase ton propre retour qu'un souffre retire. return passes through your liquid leaping. 在你自身川流不息的生命動力中。
Qu'il est doux parfois d'être de ton avis, How sweet it is to think like you sometimes,不時認同你，長兄，噢我的肢體，
frere aîné, ô mon corps, older brother, O my body, 是多麼窩心，
qu'il est doux d'être fort how sweet it is to be strong 能以你之力堅硬
de ta force, with your power, 感覺你的葉，莖，外皮
de te sentir feuille, tige, écorce to feel myself leaf, trunk, bark 與你所能化身之一切
et tout ce que tu peux devenir encore, and all else you still can become, 是多麼窩心，
toi, si près de l'esprit. you, so close to spirit. 你，多貼近靈性。
Toi, si franc, si uni You, so frank, so whole 你，多坦白，在這如樹的姿態中
dans ta joie manifeste in your obvious delight 你的喜悅多麼一覽無遺，
d'être cet abre de gestes to be this tree of gestures 多麼统一，
qui, un instant, ralentit which, one moment, slows down 它，在–頃刻間，稍停
les allures célestes the celestial allures, 天堂之魅力
pour y placer sa vie. and there deposits its life. 以放下其生命。
In this poem, it is obvious what Rilke intends to portray. Like so many other poets, the fountain reminds him of the fountain of love. He notes numerous similarities of the action of the fountain with the numerous subtle changes in the act of love. He provides the most concrete images of the dynamism of love at its various stages. And yet what is portrayed is entirely absent. He does not even mention the true subject of the poem at all! Yet with a little imagination, it is easy to understand what he was really trying to depict! That is one of the reasons why poetry is so enjoyable. We can enjoy what is "not there" by reading what "there is", in front of our eyes!
It's such a great pity that in the translation, the reader cannot fully appreciate the skill with which Rilke chose his words. e.g. in describing the column of the temple of love, he uses the word "lègér". That word can be translated into "light" as opposed to heavy but in French it also carries the connotation of being skilful and nimble in movement which gives the way the column can move an added dynamic dimension in the particular context of the poem. This is completely lost in the translation. In addition, the reader will also miss the euphonious sound of the original text in French ! All the reader gets to gloat over are images but not the sound!
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