Pity the farmer
悯农
by Li Shen (772-846)
——李绅（772 - 846）
The farmer hoes grain in the noonday sun,
锄禾日当午，
With sweat dripping onto the field.
汗滴禾下土。
Who realizes that the food on their plate-
谁知盘中餐，
Every grain-comes from bitter suffering?
粒粒皆辛苦。
The rice farmer
米农
by Saoirse McCann
——西尔斯·麦凯恩
The sun is setting low, the red sky a welcoming sight;
太阳已徐徐落下，天空染起红妆；
The farmer stands silently in the fading light.
渐失渐柔的光线中，农民矗立眺望。
The fields are watered and planted, the buffaloes are fed;
田已灌溉和播种，老牛也已喂养；
The only thing he thinks of now is finding home and bed.
现在唯一想要的，就是家里那张床。
A gentle wind is whispering of hope and dreams of life;
风儿低吟浅唱着，送来希望与梦想；
Every grain of rice requires such effort and such strife.
不努力就没收获，每粒米都是这样。
Remember, when you sit and eat with family of friends,
亲朋好友吃饭时，请您勿要忘；
All the many hours he works, as his fields he tends.
种米的人还在忙碌着，在那片土地上。