Let us go then, you and I,

那么我们走吧，你我两个人，

When the evening is spread out against the sky

正当朝天空慢慢铺展着黄昏

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

好似病人麻醉在手术桌上；

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

我们走吧，穿过一些半清冷的街，

The muttering retreats

那儿休憩的场所正人声喋喋；

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

有夜夜不宁的下等歇夜旅店

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

和满地蚌壳的铺锯末的饭馆；

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

街连着街，好象一场讨厌的争议

Of insidious intent

带着阴险的意图

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

要把你引向一个重大的问题……

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

唉，不要问，"那是什么？"

Let us go and make our visit.

让我们快点去作客。

在客厅里女士们来回地走，

In the room the women come and go

谈着画家米开朗基罗。

Talking of Michelangelo.

黄色的雾在窗玻璃上擦着它的背，

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,

黄色的烟在窗玻璃上擦着它的嘴，

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,

把它的舌头舐进黄昏的角落，

Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,

徘徊在快要干涸的水坑上；

Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,

让跌下烟囱的烟灰落上它的背，

Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,

它溜下台阶，忽地纵身跳跃，

Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,

看到这是一个温柔的十月的夜，

And seeing that it was a soft October night,

于是便在房子附近蜷伏起来安睡。

Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

呵，确实地，总会有时间

And indeed there will be time

看黄色的烟沿着街滑行，

For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,

在窗玻璃上擦着它的背；

Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;

总会有时间，总会有时间

There will be time, there will be time

装一副面容去会见你去见的脸；

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

总会有时间去暗杀和创新，

There will be time to murder and create,

总会有时间让举起问题又丢进你盘里的

And time for all the works and days of hands

双手完成劳作与度过时日；

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

有的是时间，无论你，无论我，

Time for you and time for me,

还有的是时间犹豫一百遍，

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

或看到一百种幻景再完全改过，

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

在吃一片烤面包和饮茶以前。

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

在客厅里女士们来回地走，

In the room the women come and go

谈着画家米开朗基罗。

Talking of Michelangelo.

呵，确实地，总还有时间

And indeed there will be time

来疑问，"我可有勇气？""我可有勇气？"

To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”

总还有时间来转身走下楼梯，

Time to turn back and descend the stair,

把一块秃顶暴露给人去注意——

With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

（她们会说："他的头发变得多么稀！"）

(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)

我的晨礼服，我的硬领在腭下笔挺，

My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,

我的领带雅致而多彩，用一个简朴的别针固定——

My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —

（她们会说："可是他的胳膊腿多么细！"）

(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)

我可有勇气

Do I dare

搅乱这个宇宙？

Disturb the universe?

在一分钟里总还有时间

In a minute there is time

决定和变卦，过一分钟再变回头。

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

因为我已经熟悉了她们，熟悉了她们所有的人——

For I have known them all already, known them all:

熟悉了那些黄昏，和上下午的情景，

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

我是用咖啡匙子量走了我的生命；

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;

我熟悉每当隔壁响起了音乐

I know the voices dying with a dying fall

话声就逐渐低微而至停歇。

Beneath the music from a farther room.

所以我怎么敢开口？

               So how should I presume?

而且我已熟悉那些眼睛，熟悉了她们所有的眼睛——

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—

那些眼睛能用一句成语的公式把你盯住，

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,

当我被公式化了，在别针下趴伏，

And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,

那我怎么能开始吐出

When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,

我的生活和习惯的全部剩烟头？

Then how should I begin

我又怎么敢开口？

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

而且我已经熟悉了那些胳膊，熟悉了她们所有的胳膊——

               And how should I presume?

那些胳膊带着镯子，又袒露又白净

（可是在灯光下，显得淡褐色毛茸茸！）

And I have known the arms already, known them all—

是否由于衣裙的香气

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare

使得我这样话离本题？

(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)

那些胳膊或围着肩巾，或横在案头。

Is it perfume from a dress

那时候我该开口吗？

That makes me so digress?

可是我怎么开始？

Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.

               And should I then presume?

是否我说，我在黄昏时走过窄小的街，

               And how should I begin?

看到孤独的男子只穿着衬衫

倚在窗口，烟斗里冒着袅袅的烟？……

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets

And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes

那我就会成为一对蟹螯

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? ...

急急爬过沉默的海底。

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

啊，那下午，那黄昏，睡得多平静！

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

被纤长的手指轻轻抚爱，

睡了……倦慵的……或者它装病，

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!

躺在地板上，就在你我脚边伸开。

Smoothed by long fingers,

是否我，在用过茶、糕点和冰食以后，

Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers,

有魄力把这一刻推到紧要的关头？

Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.

然而，尽管我曾哭泣和斋戒，哭泣和祈祷，

Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,

尽管我看见我的头（有一点秃了）用盘子端了进来，

Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?

我不是先知——这也不值得大惊小怪；

But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,

我曾看到我伟大的时刻闪烁，

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,

我曾看到我的外衣暗笑，

I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;

一句话，我有点害怕。

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

而且，归根到底，是不是值得

And in short, I was afraid.

当小吃、果子酱和红茶已用过，

在杯盘中间，当人们谈着你和我，

And would it have been worth it, after all,

是不是值得以一个微笑

After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,

把这件事情一口啃掉，

Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,

把整个宇宙压缩成一个球，

Would it have been worth while,

使它滚向某个重大的问题，

To have bitten off the matter with a smile,

说道："我是拉撒路，从冥界

To have squeezed the universe into a ball

来报一个信，我要告诉你们一切。"——

To roll it towards some overwhelming question,

万一她把枕垫放在头下一倚，

To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,

说道："唉，我意思不是要谈这些；

Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—

不，我不是要谈这些。"

If one, settling a pillow by her head

               Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;

那么，归根到底，是不是值得，

               That is not it, at all.”

是否值得在那许多次夕阳以后，

在庭院的散步和水淋过街道以后，

And would it have been worth it, after all,

在读小说以后，在饮茶以后，在长裙拖过地板以后，——

Would it have been worth while,

说这些，和许多许多事情？——

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,

要说出我想说的话绝不可能！

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—

仿佛有幻灯把神经的图样投到幕上：

And this, and so much more?—

是否还值得如此难为情，

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

假如她放一个枕垫或掷下披肩，

But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

把脸转向窗户，甩出一句：

Would it have been worth while

那可不是我的本意，

If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,

那可绝不是我的本意。

And turning toward the window, should say:

               “That is not it at all,

不！我并非哈姆雷特王子，当也当不成；

               That is not what I meant, at all.”

我只是个侍从爵士，为王家出行，

铺排显赫的场面，或为王子出主意，

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;

就够好的了；无非是顺手的工具，

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

服服帖帖，巴不得有点用途，

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

细致，周详，处处小心翼翼；

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

满口高谈阔论，但有点愚鲁；

Deferential, glad to be of use,

有时候，老实说，显得近乎可笑，

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

有时候，几乎是个丑角。

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

呵，我变老了……我变老了……

Almost, at times, the Fool.

我将要卷起我的长裤的裤脚。

I grow old ... I grow old ...

我将把头发往后分吗？我可敢吃桃子？

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

我将穿上白法兰绒裤在海滩上散步。

我听见了女水妖彼此对唱着歌。

Shall I part my hair behind?   Do I dare to eat a peach?

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

我不认为她们会为我而唱歌。

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

我看过她们凌驾波浪驶向大海，

I do not think that they will sing to me.

梳着打回来的波浪的白发，

当狂风把海水吹得又黑又白。

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves

Combing the white hair of the waves blown back

我们留连于大海的宫室，

When the wind blows the water white and black.

被海妖以红的和棕的海草装饰，

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

一旦被人声唤醒，我们就淹死。

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

Till human voices wake us, and we drown.