Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again

Saying Good-bye to Cambridge Again

Very quietly I take my leave,
      As quietly as I came here;
      Quietly I wave good-bye,
      To the rosy clouds in the western sky.

The golden willows by the riverside,
      Are young brides in the setting sun;
      Their reflections on the shimmering waves,
      Always linger in the depth of my heart.

The floating heart growing in the sludge,  
      Sways leisurely under the water;
      In the gentle waves of Cambridge,
      I would be a water plant!

That pool under the shade of elm trees,
      Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky;
      Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds,
      Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream.

To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream,  
      To where the green grass is more verdant;  
      Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight,
      And sing aloud in the splendor of starlight.

But I cannot sing aloud,
      Quietness is my farewell music;

Even summer insects keep silence for me,
      Silent is Cambridge tonight!

Very quietly I take my leave,
      As quietly as I came here;
      Gently I flick my sleeves,
      Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away.