Wayside Roses

Guo Moruo

Rambling through a pine forest early in the morning, I came across a bunch of forsaken roses lying by the shady wayside. They were still fresh in colour. One was purplish-red, another pink, still another a sickly ivory-yellow slightly tinged with blood-red.

I picked them up in my hand.

The numerous fine dewdrops on the fresh green leaves clearly showed that the roses had just been cast away the previous night. Were they pitiful maidens deflowered by fickle men? Or were they unlucky young men fooled by frivolous women? Last night’s whispers of love; this morning’s drops of cold dew…

I brought the roses home and tried to find a flower vase to keep them in.

Flower vase I had none, but I did find in a nook of my room an empty earthen wine bottle with its neck broken. --O dear roses, though unable to treat you to spring wine, I could offer you limpid spring water and my sincere pure heart. Wouldn’t it be better for you to wither away in solitude in this broken earthen wine bottle than to lie abandoned by the roadside and be trodden down upon?

路畔的蔷薇

郭沫若

清晨往松林里去散步，我在林荫路畔发见了一束被遗弃了的蔷薇。蔷薇的花色还是鲜艳的，一朵紫红，一朵嫩红，一朵是病黄的象牙色中带着几分血晕(1)。

我把蔷薇拾在手里了。

青翠的叶上已经凝集着细密的露珠，这显然是昨夜被除人遗弃了的。这是可怜的少女受了薄幸的男子的欺绐?还是不幸的青年受了轻狂的的妇人的玩弄? 昨晚上甜蜜的私语，今朝的冷清的露珠……(2)

我把蔷薇拿到家里来了，我想找个花瓶来供养它。

花瓶我没有(3)，我在一只墙角上寻了一个断了颈子的盛酒的土瓶。——蔷薇哟，我虽然不能供养你以春酒，但我要供养你以清洁的流泉，清洁的素心。你在这破土瓶中虽然不免要凄凄寂寂地飘零(4)，但比遗弃在路旁被人践踏了的好罢?