译诗:玛格丽特•阿特伍德诗歌11首
2015-01-31 16:22阅读:
玛格丽特·阿特伍德/诗
乔国永/译
玛格丽特·阿特伍德(Margaret
Atwood,1939-),加拿大著名诗人、小说家、文学评论家。
1939年11月18日,阿特伍德出生于渥太华,1959年就读于多伦多大学。自1962年起,阿特伍德在美国求学,并先后获得麻省拉德克利夫学院的文
学硕士学位与哈佛大学的博士学位。毕业后,她在温哥华的不列颠哥伦比亚大学担任英语讲师。后来,她先后又担任过加拿大、美国、澳大利亚多所大学的“驻校作家”。
她擅长将日常经验提升到一种形而上的层次,她的诗歌不仅具有女性特有的细腻而且富有深刻的洞察力,在加拿大和英美诗界都很有影响,曾获多项重要的文学奖,包括加拿大总督文学奖、英联邦文学奖、意大利普雷米欧·蒙德罗奖、法国政府文学艺术勋章等。
1
You Fit Into Me
You fit into me
like a hook into an
eye
A fish hook
An open eye
你我相称
你我相称,
如一只钩子与一只眼睛相称。
一只鱼钩,
一只睁大的眼。
2
Siren Song
This is the one song
everyone
would like to learn: the
song
that is irresistible:
the song that forces
men
to leap overboard in
squadrons
even though they see the
beached skulls
the song nobody knows
because anyone who has heard
it
is dead, and the others
can't remember.
Shall I tell you the
secret
and if I do, will you
get me
out of this bird
suit?
I don't enjoy
it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and
mythical
with these two feathery
maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and
valuable.
I will tell the secret to
you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer. This song
is a cry for help: Help
me!
Only you, only you
can,
you are unique
at last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every
time.
塞壬之歌
这是一支人人
都想学唱的歌:
无法抗拒的歌。
没人懂得这支歌,
听到它的人
都死了,而其他人记不起它。
我该告诉你这个秘密吗?
如果我告诉了你,你会
为我脱去羽翼吗?
我不喜欢
张着一对招摇的翅膀
蹲踞在这座看似
美丽、神话般的岛上,
我不喜欢唱
这首三重唱,这致命又珍贵的歌。
我要告诉你这个秘密,
告诉你,只告诉你。
靠近点。这支歌
是求救的呼叫:救我!
只有你,只有你能救我,
最终,只有你
与众不同。唉,
这是一支乏味的歌,
但它却屡屡奏效。
注:塞壬源自古希腊神话传说,在神话中的她被塑造成一名人面鸟身的海妖,飞翔在大海上,拥有天籁般的歌喉,常用歌声诱惑过路的航海者而使航船触礁沉没,船员则成为塞壬的腹中餐。塞壬是河神埃克罗厄斯的女儿,是从他的血液中诞生的美丽妖精。因为与缪斯比赛音乐落败而被缪斯拔去双翅,使之无法飞翔。失去翅膀后的塞壬只好在海岸线附近游弋,有时会变幻为美人鱼,用自己的歌声吸引过往的水手,使他们遭遇灭顶之灾。
3
This Is A Photograph Of
Me
It was taken some time
ago.
At first it seems to
be
a smeared
print: blurred lines and grey
flecks
blended with the paper;
then, as you scan
it, you see in the
left-hand corner
a thing that is like a
branch: part of a
tree
(balsam or spruce) emerging
and, to the right, halfway
up
what ought to be a
gentle
slope, a small frame
house.
In the background there is
a lake,
and beyond that, some low
hills.
(The photograph was taken
the day after I
drowned.
I am in the lake, in
the center
of the picture, just under
the surface.
It is difficult to say
where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I
am:
the effect of water
on light is a
distortion
but if you look long
enough,
eventually
you will be able to see
me.)
一张我的照片
这是张以前拍的照片。
乍一看,好像是
一张含混的
图片:模糊的轮廓和灰色的斑点
混杂在纸上。
再一细看,
在左边角,你会看到
一个像树枝一样的东西:一棵树的局部
(香脂冷杉或是云杉)显露出来,
右边,中间往上
应该是一段缓坡的地方,
有一座小房子。
背景中有一个湖,
再后面有低矮的山峦。
(这幅照片
是那天我溺水后拍的。
我在湖里,在画面的
中间,就在湖面之下。
很难说出精确的
位置,也说不清
我的大小:
水会让光出现
失真的效果,
但是,看久一些,
最终
你能看到我。)
4
Night Poem
There is nothing to be
afraid of,
it is only the wind
changing to the east, it
is only
your father the thunder
your mother the rain
In this country of
water
with its beige moon damp
as a mushroom,
its drowned stumps and long
birds
that swim, where the moss
grows
on all sides of the
trees
and your shadow is not
your shadow
but your reflection,
your true parents disappear
when the curtain covers your
door.
We are the others,
the ones from under the
lake
who stand silently beside your
bed
with our heads of
darkness.
We have come to cover
you
with red wool,
with our tears and distant
whispers.
You rock in the rain's
arms,
the chilly ark of your
sleep,
while we wait, your
night
father and mother,
with our cold hands and
dead flashlight,
knowing we are only
the wavering shadows thrown
by one candle, in this
echo
you will hear twenty years
later.
夜之诗
没什么好担心的,
那不过是
转向东边的风,
是你如雷鸣般的父亲,
如雨的母亲。
在水的国度,
米黄色的月亮像一颗潮湿的蘑菇,
这里有被淹没的残根和游泳的
大鸟,有苔藓
爬满树干。
你的影子已化作
你的倒影。
门帘垂落,
你的亲生父母消失不见。
我们变成了他人——
来自湖底,
静静地站在你的床边,
头影暗绰。
我们来
把红色的毛毯,
把我们的泪水和遥远的耳语
盖在你身上。
你在雨的臂弯
这梦里冰冷的船中颤栗,
而我们——你暗夜般的
父母,只能手脚冰冷地
握着一把没电的手电筒守候着你。
我们知道我们只是
蜡烛投射出的
飘摇的暗影,它的回声
二十年后你才会听到。
5
You Begin
You begin this way:
this is your hand,
this is your eye,
this is a fish, blue and
flat
on the paper, almost
the shape of an eye
This is your mouth, this
is an O
or a moon, whichever
you like. This is
yellow.
Outside the window
is the rain, green
because it is summer, and
beyond that
the trees and then the
world,
which is round and has
only
the colors of these nine
crayons.
This is the world, which
is fuller
and more difficult to learn
than I have said.
You are right to smudge it
that way
with the red and
then
the orange: the world
burns.
Once you have learned these
words
you will learn that there
are more
words than you can ever
learn.
The word hand floats above
your hand
like a small cloud over a
lake.
The word hand anchors
your hand to this
table
your hand is a warm
stone
I hold between two
words.
This is your hand, these
are my hands, this is the
world,
which is round but not
flat and has more
colors
than we can see.
It begins, it has an
end,
this is what you
will
come back to, this is your
hand.
开始
你就这样开始了:
这是你的手,
这是你的眼,
这是一条鱼,在纸上
是蓝色的、平的,
就像一只眼睛的形状,
这是你的嘴,这是个圆,
如果你喜欢,也可以叫它
月亮。这是黄色。
窗外
是雨,因为是夏天,
外面是绿色的,还有
树,有个世界——
它是圆的,只有
这九色蜡笔的颜色。
这就是世界,它远比
我所说的更全面,更难以理解。
你把它一会儿涂成红色,
一会儿又涂成橘黄色,
这样做是对的:这个世界在燃烧。
学会了这些词语之后,
你就会明白,
还有更多的词你没学到。
词语的小手漂浮在你的手上,
像湖上空的一小朵云彩。
词语的手把你的手
牵到这张桌子上,
你的手就成了一块暖暖的石头,
我在两个词语中握着它。
这是你的手,这是我的手,这是世界——
它是圆的,但不平坦,它的色彩
远多于我们所看到的。
它有始,有终,
将来,你也会回到
这个终点,这是你的手。
6
A Visit
Gone are the days
when you could walk on
water.
When you could walk.
The days are gone.
Only one day remains,
the one you're in.
The memory is no
friend.
It can only tell you
what you no longer
have:
a left hand you can
use,
two feet that walk.
All the brain's gadgets.
Hello, hello.
The one hand that still
works
grips, won't let go.
That is not a train.
There is no cricket.
Let's not panic.
Let's talk about axes,
which kinds are good,
the many names of
wood.
This is how to build
a house, a boat, a
tent.
No use; the toolbox
refuses to reveal its
verbs;
the rasp, the plane, the
awl,
revert to sullen metal.
Do you recognize anything? I
said.
Anything familiar?
Yes, you said. The
bed.
Better to watch the
stream
that flows across the
floor
and is made of
sunlight,
the forest made of
shadows;
better to watch the
fireplace
which is now a
beach.
拜访
在水上行走的日子
远去了。
行走的日子远去了。
日子远去了,
只留下了一天——
你在的那天。
记忆从不友善。
它只能告诉你
你不再拥有的东西:
一只有用的左手,
能行走的双脚。
脑子里所有的部件。
嘿!嘿!
这只手还能用
还握得紧,不会丧失。
那不是火车。
也没有蟋蟀。
不要惊慌。
我们来谈谈斧子,
哪种好使,
谈谈树林那么多的名字。
讲讲怎样建一座房子、
造一只小船、搭一座帐篷。
没有用;工具箱
不愿显露它的构件;
锉、刨子、锥子
恢复到金属阴郁的本质。
你认出什么了吗?我问。
熟悉的东西吗?
认出了,你说。床。
还是去看看流过
地板的小河吧,
它是阳光的溪流,
去看看影子的森林;
看看壁炉,
现在,它已变成了海滩。
7
Variation On The Word
Sleep
I would like to watch you
sleeping,
which may not happen.
I would like to watch
you,
sleeping. I would like to
sleep
with you, to enter
your sleep as its smooth
dark wave
slides over my head
and walk with you through
that lucent
wavering forest of bluegreen
leaves
with its watery sun &
three moons
towards the cave where you
must descend,
towards your worst fear
I would like to give you
the silver
branch, the small white flower,
the one
word that will protect
you
from the grief at the
center
of your dream, from the
grief
at the center I would like
to follow
you up the long
stairway
again & become
the boat that would row
you back
carefully, a flame
in two cupped hands
to where your body
lies
beside me, and as you
enter
it as easily as breathing
in
I would like to be the
air
that inhabits you for a
moment
only. I would like to be
that unnoticed
& that necessary.
对睡眠一词的更新
我想看着你入睡,
但这不会发生。
我想看着你,入睡。我想
和你一起入睡,
在柔滑的暗波
流经我的脑海时,
进入你的梦境,
和你一起穿过树叶青绿,
明亮、摇曳的丛林,
在淡淡的太阳和三个月亮下
走向你终要莅临的洞穴,
走向你的终极恐惧。
我想赠你银色的枝条,
洁白的小花,赠你一个词,
它会带你远离
梦中的悲伤,
在梦中,我想再次跟随你
攀爬长长的楼梯,变成
轻轻载你返回的
小船,变成一束
双手托起的火焰,
照亮我身旁
你的栖所,让你的进入
易如轻缓的吸纳。
我想变成空气,
只在你的体内幽居片刻。
我想做你不经意间的
必需。
8
A Sad Child
You're sad because you're
sad.
It's psychic. It's the age.
It's chemical.
Go see a shrink or take
a pill,
or hug your sadness like
an eyeless doll
you need to sleep.
Well, all children are
sad
but some get over
it.
Count your blessings. Better than
that,
buy a hat. Buy a coat
or pet.
Take up dancing to
forget.
Forget what?
Your sadness, your shadow,
whatever it was that was
done to you
the day of the lawn
party
when you came inside flushed
with the sun,
your mouth sulky with
sugar,
in your new dress with the
ribbon
and the ice-cream smear,
and said to yourself in
the bathroom,
I am not the favorite
child.
My darling, when it
comes
right down to it
and the light fails and
the fog rolls in
and you're trapped in your
overturned body
under a blanket or burning
car,
and the red flame is
seeping out of you
and igniting the tarmac beside
you head
or else the floor, or else
the pillow,
none of us is;
or else we all are.
一个伤心的孩子
你伤心是因为你伤心。
它是精神、年龄的产物,是化学品。
去看看精神科医生吧,吃点药,
像拥抱一个没眼睛的玩具娃娃一样拥抱悲伤,
你需要睡眠。
好了,所有的孩子都会伤心,
但有的人会很快过去。
多往好处想想吧。还有更好的办法,
去买顶帽子,买件衣服或买只宠物。
也可以让跳舞帮你遗忘。
要忘记什么呢?
你的悲伤,你的阴影,
所有曾让你伤心的事物:
你阳光灿烂地参加
草坪聚会的日子,
含着糖,生气嘟着的嘴,
系着丝带的新裙子,
冰激淋的污渍 ,
你在浴室的自言自语——
我不是讨人喜欢的孩子。
亲爱的,当悲伤
降临时 ,
当光黯淡下去,雾汹涌而来时,
当你翻倒的身体,被困在
重物或着火的车子下时,
当红色的火焰从你身体冒出,
引燃你脑旁的柏油路面、
地板、或枕头时,
我们没有一个人伤心;
要不然,我们都会伤心。
9
The Moment
The moment when, after many
years
of hard work and a long
voyage
you stand in the centre of
your room,
house, half-acre, square mile,
island, country,
knowing at last how you
got there,
and say, I own this,
is the same moment when
the trees unloose
their soft arms from around
you,
the birds take back their
language,
the cliffs fissure and
collapse,
the air moves back from
you like a wave
and you can't breathe.
No, they whisper. You own
nothing.
You were a visitor, time
after time
climbing the hill, planting the
flag, proclaiming.
We never belonged to
you.
You never found us.
It was always the other
way round.
此刻
此刻,在常年的
辛劳和远航之后,
你站在房间的中央,
站在房子、田地、岛屿甚或国土的中央,
终于明白了你是怎样到达那里的,
你说:我拥有了这一切。
这是相同的时刻吗——
树木松开了围绕着你的柔软的手臂,
鸟儿们收回它们的话语,
崖壁崩裂,坍塌,
空气波浪般从你这里退去,
让你无法呼吸。
不是,它们低声说,你一无所有。
你只是一个访客,不停地
爬山,插上旗子,然后宣布。
我们从未属于过你。
你从未发现过我们。
一切总是事与愿违。
10
More and More
More and more frequently the
edges
of me dissolve and I
become
a wish to assimilate the
world, including
you, if possible through the
skin
like a cool plant's tricks
with oxygen
and live by a harmless
green burning.
I would not consume
you or ever
finish, you would still be
there
surrounding me, complete
as the air.
Unfortunately I don't have
leaves.
Instead I have eyes
and teeth and other
non-green
things which rule out
osmosis.
So be careful, I mean
it,
I give you fair
warning:
This kind of hunger
draws
everything into its own
space; nor can we
talk it all over, have a
calm
rational discussion.
There is no reason for
this, only
a starved dog's logic about
bones.
越来越
我的边缘越来越频繁地
消逝,我开始期望
理解这个世界,包括你,
如果可能的话,像一株清爽的植物
熟稔于让氧气穿过肌肤,
在没有伤害的绿色火焰旁生长。
我本不会吞噬你,
也不会停下来,你会一直
围在我身边,完好无损。
不幸的是我没有叶子,
却有眼睛、
牙齿和其它
非绿色的东西,
它们不喜欢潜移默化。
所以,要小心,我是当真的,
我给你合理的警告:
这种饥饿会把一切
吞进它的肠胃;
我们无法
心平气和地交谈,
平静、理性地讨论。
这没什么理由,只有
一条饥饿的狗对骨头的逻辑。
11
Provisions
What should we have
taken
with us? We never could
decide
on that; or what to
wear,
or at what time of
year we should make the
journey
So here we are in
thin
raincoats and rubber boots
On the disastrous ice, the
wind rising
Nothing in our pockets
But a pencil stub, two
oranges
Four Toronto streetcar
tickets
and an elastic band holding
a bundle
of small white filing
cards
printed with important
facts.
旅途装备
我们永远无法决定
该随身带些
什么,甚或是穿什么,
每一年
该在什么时间开始旅程。
所以我们在这里,穿着
薄薄的雨衣和橡胶靴。
风在制造灾难的冰上泛起。
我们的口袋里一无所有,
只剩下一个铅笔头,两个橘子,
四张多伦多电车票
和一根橡皮筋,它捆扎着
一叠白色档案卡,
上面印有重要的事实。