联合国教科文组织在每年3月21日庆祝世界诗歌日，目的是为了推广诗歌这一优美的文化形式的创作、阅读和出版。本文为教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士在2017年3月21日世界诗歌日上发表的致辞。
Message from Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO,
on the Occasion of the World Poetry Day
教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃女士世界诗歌日致辞
21 March 2017
2017年3月21日
We have not wings, we cannot soar;
我们没有翅膀，我们不能翱翔，
But we have feet to scale and climb
但是我们有双足，我们可以登攀
By slow degrees, by more and more,
一步一步，由近而远，
The cloudy summits of our time.
跨越我们时代那阴云密布的峰峦。
At a time when the challenges we face – from climate change, inequality and poverty to violent extremism – seem so steep, the words of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow give us hope.
当我们所面临的各种挑战——从气候变化、不平等和贫困到暴力极端主义——看上去如此艰险的时候，诗人亨利·沃兹沃斯·朗费罗的诗句给我们带来希望。
Arranged in words, coloured with images, struck with the right meter, poetry has a power that has no match. This is the power to shake us from everyday life and to remind us of the beauty that surrounds us and the resilience of the shared human spirit.
以文字为结构，以意象为色彩，以韵律为节奏，诗歌的力量可以说无以匹敌。诗歌将我们从日常生活中唤醒，去领略我们周边存在的各种美好，去体悟人类共有的不屈不挠的精神。
Poetry is a window onto the breath-taking diversity of humanity. UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity includes dozens of forms of oral expression and poetry, from the Tsiattista poetic duelling of Cyprus, the Ca trù sung poetry of Viet Nam and Al-Taghrooda to the traditional Bedouin chanted poetry of Oman and the United Arab Emirates. As old as language itself, poetry remains more vital than ever, in a time of turbulence, as a source of hope, as a way to share what it means to live in this world.
诗歌展示着人类神奇的多样性。教科文组织《人类非物质文化遗产代表名录》包括数十种口头表达和诗歌形式，从塞浦路斯的斯亚提斯塔赛诗会、越南的歌筹，到塔古尔达——阿曼和阿拉伯联合酋长国传统贝都因人的诗歌吟唱。与语言本身一样古老的诗歌，在此动荡时代，作为希望的一个源泉，作为分享生活在这个世界意味着什么的一种方式，仍然前所未有地重要。
The poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “poetry is an act of peace.” Poetry is unique in its ability to speak across time, space and culture, to reach directly the hearts of people everywhere. This is a wellspring for dialogue and understanding – this has always been a force to challenge injustice and advance freedom. As UNESCO’s new Goodwill Ambassador for Artistic Freedom and Creativity, Deeyah Khan, has said, all art, including poetry, “has the extraordinary capacity to express resistance and rebellion, protest and hope.”
诗人巴勃罗·聂鲁达写道：“诗歌是一种和平行为。”诗歌在跨越时空和文化、直指世人心灵方面的表达力是独一无二的。诗歌是对话和理解的泉源，而对话和理解一直是挑战不公正和促进自由的一种力量。教科文组织新任促进艺术自由和创造力亲善大使迪亚·汗指出，所有的艺术，包括诗歌，“都具有表达抗拒和反叛、抗议和希望的非凡能力。”
Poetry is not a luxury.
诗歌不是一种奢侈。
It lies at the heart of who we are as women and men, living together today, drawing on the heritage of past generations, custodians of the world for our children and grandchildren.
诗歌就位于作为现世男女的我们众人的心田，今天生活在一起的我们，依托着祖祖辈辈的遗产，为我们的子孙后代守护着这个世界。
By celebrating poetry today, we celebrate our ability to join together, in a spirit of solidarity, to scale and climb “the cloudy summits of our time.” We need this to take forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to implement the Paris Climate Agreement, to ensure no woman or man is left behind.
今天，通过庆祝诗歌，我们也庆祝人类携手共进的能力，让我们团结起来共度时艰，去攀登并跨越“我们时代那阴云密布的峰峦”。我们需要这种精神来推进《2030年可持续发展议程》，实施《巴黎气候协议》，确保没有一个人掉队。
（编辑：李梦婕）