Liu Nianchun
About the poet
Liu Nianchun is a dissident writer from Beijing. He was a major participant in the Democracy Wall movement in 1979 and an editor of the underground publication Today. Beginning in 1981, Liu served three years in prison for transferring manuscripts written by his imprisoned brother. In 1989, he participated in the Tiananmen Democracy Movement. He currently resides in the United States.
I dreamed
I was a road
Stretching far into the distance
Ah road, road
There are my ideals
There is my hometown
But ideals have withered
Home is a wasteland
Ah road, road
There is my resting place
There my unrest
Rest was lost along the road
Unrest was kept in my heart
Ah road, road
I will never find my lost home again
Never be certain of my former ideals
Life is a dream no longer
Dreams are no longer life
Where my drifting may take me I know not
If I were a road, then
I would surely stretch far into the distance
No need then for ivy to wind around the old tree
No need for youth to maintain its ideals
To hold up the stars revolving round the moon
But I lost myself along the road
Wherever my drifting takes me
Wherever I wander
I am a road
Surely I will stretch far into the distance
路
刘念春
我梦见
我是一条路
象路一样伸向远方
路啊路
那里是我的理想
那里是我的家乡
理想已经枯黄
家乡一片凄凉
路啊路
那里是我的归宿
那里是我的彷徨
归宿丢失在路边
彷徨寄托在心上
路啊路
我再也找不到丢失的家乡
再也无法认清曾经的理想
生活已经不是梦
梦也不再是生活
我不知道漂流到何方
如果我是一条路
那么，一定伸向远方
无须青藤缠绕老树
无须青春维系理想
托起群星围绕月亮
自我却丢失在路上
无论漂泊在何处
无论流落到何方
我是路
一定伸向远方
Translated by J. Latourelle
