河流

河流
作者：于坚
在我故乡的高山中有许多河流
它们在很深的峡谷中流过
它们很少看见天空
在那些河面上没有高扬的巨帆
也没有船歌引来大群的江鸥
要翻过千山万岭
你才听得见那河的声音
要乘着大树扎成的木筏
你才敢在那波涛上航行
有些地带永远没有人会知道
那里的自由只属于鹰
河水在雨季是粗暴的
高原的大风把巨石推下山谷
泥巴把河流染红
真像是大山流出来的血液
只有在宁静中
人才看见高原鼓起的血管
住在河两岸的人
也许永远都不会见面
但你走到我故乡的任何一个地方
都会听见人们谈论这些河
就像谈到他们的上帝

There are many rivers in the mountains where I grew up
In deep gorges they flow
They rarely catch a glimpse of sky
There are no expansive sails hoisted high over their surfaces
Nor huge flocks of river gulls drawn on by boat-songs
It’s only when you’ve climbed endless ridges and hills
That you hear this river sound
It’s only on rafts made of great tree-trunks lashed together
That you dare ride upon these waves
Some areas will stay forever unknown to humankind
The freedom of those places belongs to the eagles alone
In the rainy season the waters turn brutal
Gale winds on the high plateau push boulders down into valleys
Mud dyes the rivers red
As if the mountains were actually bleeding
Only when it’s calm
Do you see the plateau’s bulging veins
Those people who live on either side of these rivers
May never come to know of one another’s existence
But wherever you go in the place I grew up in
You will here people talking about these rivers
As if discussing their god