雪水
Snow Water
By Michael Longley
烹茶须细究，
高手既诗人；
花甲无奢求，
寿礼雪水纯。
A fastidious brewer of tea, a tea
Connoisseur as well as a poet,
I modestly request on my sixtieth
Birthday a gift of snow water.
茶汽杂墨痕，
烫壶无别观；
且取银针许，
足够泡两盏。
Tea steam and ink stains. Single-
Mindedly I scald my teapot and
Measure out some Silver Needles Tea,
Enough for a second steeping.
尚爱茶汤清，
中有寿眉悬；
高山险峰出，
云雾茶可探。
Other favourites include Clear
Distance and Eyebrows of Longevity
Or, from the precarious mountain peaks,
Cloud Mist Tea (quite delectable)
能猴去采摘
择叶放入篮
带回我住处
家有雪水坛。
Which competent monkeys harvest
Filling their baskets with choice leaves
And bringing them down to where I wait
With my crock of snow water.
