This Is a Coward World
Xu Zhimo

This is a coward world;
With no room for love,
No room for love!
Let your hair down,
Kick off your shoes:
Come with me, my beloved.
Reject this world
And die for love.

I’ll take your hand.
Love, come with me:
The thorns may pierce our feet,
The hail may break our heads,
Come with me,
I’ll take your hand,
Beyond this cage
Freedom will be ours again.

Come with me,
My love!
The world is now behind us—
Look, is that not the white and shining sea?
The white sea,
The shining sea,
Boundless freedom
Of our love!

In the distance where I point,
In the blue of that small star—
An island, and on that island grass,
Flowers, birds and beasts.
Climb aboard this little skiff,
Row towards that paradise—
Love, joy, freedom—
Bid this world farewell,
For evermore!