The Flame-tree Blooms
Judith Wright (朱迪斯.赖特)
It was you planted it；
and it grew high and put on crops of leaves，
extravagant fans； sheltered in it the spider weaves
and birds move through it.
For all it grew so well
it never bloomed， though we watched patiently，
having chosen its place where we could see
it from our window-sill.
Now， in its eighteenth spring，
suddenly， wholly， ceremoniously
it puts off every leaf and stands up nakedly，
calling and gathering
every capacity in it， every power，
drawing up from the very roots of being
this pulse of total red that shocks my seeing
into an agony of flower.
It was you planted it；
and I lean on the sill to see it stand
in its dry shuffle of leaves， just as we planned，
these past years feeding it.
凤凰木开了花
译者 / 马祖毅 马霞
此树是君手栽，
干高枝密叶如扇。
蜘蛛结网人不见，
鸟在枝间徘徊。
长势虽然不赖，
苦盼花开花不开。
当年着意眼前栽，
枝叶扶疏窗外。
逢春第十八年，
枯叶离枝落纷纷。
光秃秃兀立树身，
彻底庄重突然。
蓄积全身能量，
呼吁根须输送出。
夺目惊心红血色，
痛苦只为花放。
此树沾君手泽。
倚窗喜看桠枝高。
花自嫣红叶尽凋，
未负多年培植。
