五月，当海风刺穿我们的孤独，

In May, when sea-winds pierced our solitudes,

一丛清新的杜鹃让我在林间停驻。

I found the fresh Rhodora in the woods,

无叶的花朵在潮湿的角落里铺开，

Spreading its leafless blooms in a damp nook,

荒野和迟缓的溪流也感觉到了爱。

To please the desert and the sluggish brook.

紫色的花瓣，飘坠在池塘里，

The purple petals, fallen in the pool,

给幽暗的水面增添了几分明媚，

Made the black water with their beauty gay;

红雀兴许会来这里梳理羽翼，

Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool.

即使花儿让心仪的它自惭形秽。

And court the flower that cheapens his array.

杜鹃啊！如果智者问你，这样的景致

Rhodora! if the sages ask thee why

为何要留给不会欣赏的天空与大地，

This charm is wasted on the earth and sky,

告诉他们，若神是为了看而造双目，

Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,

那么美就是自己存在的缘故：

Then Beauty is its own excuse for being:

你为什么在这里，玫瑰般迷人的花？

Why thou wert there, O rival of the rose!

我从未想过问你，也不知晓答案；

I never thought to ask, I never knew:

可是，无知的我有一个单纯的想法：

But, in my simple ignorance, suppose

是引我前来的那种力量引你来到世间。

The self-same Power that brought me there brought you.