1. The Flight
一．遁逃
At Woodlawn I heard the dead cry:
在木坪公墓，我听过死者的呼号1：
I was lulled by the slamming of iron,
铁门撞击发出催眠的声音，
A slow drip over stones,
缓缓地滴落碑石，
Toads brooding wells.
蛤蟆孵伏着枯井。
All the leaves stuck out their tongues;
所有的叶子都伸长了舌头；
I shook the softening chalk of my bones,
我抖动着骨骼酥化的粉灰。
Saying,
说，
Snail, snail, glister me forward,
蜗牛啊，蜗牛，以微光引我前行，
Bird, soft-sigh me home,
鸟儿啊，以轻叹送我回家，
Worm, be with me.
蠕虫啊，请与我同在。
This is my hard time.
这正是我困苦的时刻。
Fished in an old wound,
垂钓于往日的创伤，
The soft pond of repose;
那潭歇息的柔美池水；
Nothing nibbled my line,
没有鱼儿触咬我的钓绳，
Not even the minnows came.
甚至可作活饵的小鱼也不光顾。
Sat in an empty house
独坐一间空屋
Watching shadows crawl,
静观阴影匍匐而来，
Scratching.
搔着痒。
There was one fly.
有一只苍蝇。
Voice, come out of the silence.
声音，发自那片沉寂。
Say something.
说点什么。
Appear in the form of a spider
现形为蜘蛛
Or a moth beating the curtain.
或扑打窗帘的飞蛾。
Tell me:
告诉我：
Which is the way I take;
走哪条路；
Out of what door do I go,
出哪扇门，
Where and to whom?
去何方，找何人？
Dark hollows said, lee to the wind,
暗谷说，背风的处所
The moon said, back of an eel,
月亮说，鳗鱼的脊梁，
The salt said, look by the sea,
盐说，到海边瞭望吧，
Your tears are not enough praise,
你的泪凑不成足够的赞美，
You will find no comfort here,
你不会在此找到安慰，
In the kingdom of bang and blab.
在这喧嚣纷纭的王国。
Running lightly over spongy ground,
轻捷地跑过海绵似的地面，
Past the pasture of flat stones,
越过平石板的牧场，
The three elms,
那三颗榆树，
The sheep strewn on a field,
那点缀在原野上的绵羊。
Over a rickety bridge
翻过偻腰缩背的小桥
Toward the quick-water, wrinkling and ripping.
跑向欢快的流水，涟漪荡漾，潺潺作响。
Hunting along the river,
沿着河流寻觅而去，
Down among the rubbish, the bug-riddled foliage,
翻遍垃圾，那虫豸出没的簇叶，
By the muddy pond-edge, by the bog-holes,
在泥潭边缘，在泥沼附近，
By the shrunken lake, hunting, in the heat of summer.
在萎缩的湖滨，寻觅，顶着夏日的酷热。
The shape of a rat?
耗子的形状？
It's bigger than that.
它要比这大。
It's less than a leg
但比大腿小
And more than a nose,
却又超过鼻子，
Just under the water
它就在水下跑
It usually goes.
往往如此。
Is it soft like a mouse?
它是否轻柔得像一只耗子？
Can it wrinkle its nose?
它是否能皱起鼻子？
Could it come in the house
它能否蹑足走进房间
On the tips of its toes?
全凭脚趾？
Take the skin of a cat
抓住猫的皮
And the back of an eel,
和鳗鱼的背，
Then roll them in grease, --
然后把它们卷起放进油脂，——
That's the way it would feel.
那种感觉便是如此。
It's sleek as an otter
它柔滑犹如水獭
With wide webby toes
有着宽宽的网状脚趾
Just under the water
它就在水下跑
It usually goes.
往往如此。
2. The Pit
二．坑
Where do the roots go?
根茎伸向何处？
Look down under the leaves.
低头看看叶下。
Who put the moss there?
谁将苔藓栽培在那里？
These stones have been here too long.
这些石头在此由来已久。
Who stunned the dirt into noise?
谁将污泥敲出噪音？
Ask the mole, he knows.
叩问鼹鼠吧，他有答案。
I feel the slime of a wet nest.
我感觉湿漉漉的巢穴中粘液稠稠，
Beware Mother Mildew.
务必当心那霉变之母。
Nibble again, fish nerves.
再次触咬吧，鱼的神经。
3. The Gibber
三．呓语
At the wood's mouth,
在树林入口，
By the cave's door,
洞穴的门前，
I listened to something
我曾倾听过
I had heard before.
耳熟的声音。
Dogs of groin
屋顶的狗
Baked and howled,
狂吠哀号，
The sun was against me,
太阳与我为难，
The moon would not have me.
月亮也不将我接纳。
The weeds whined,
杂草悲鸣，
The snaked cried,
蛇虫呼号，
The cows and briars
奶牛与石楠
Said to me: Die.
对我说：死吧
What a small song. What slow clouds. What dark water.
多么卑微的歌。多么缓慢的云。多么幽暗的水。
Hath the rain a father? All the caves are ice. Only the snow's here.
雨有父亲吗？所有的洞穴皆是冰。此处唯有一地雪。2
I'm cold. I'm cold all over. Rub me in father and mother.
我冷。周身冰凉。把我揉进我的父母吧。
Fear was my father, Father Fear.
恐惧就是我的父亲，哦，恐惧大人。
His look drained the stones.
他的眼神使顽石干涸。
What gliding shape
那一掠而去的形状是什么？
Beckoning through halls,
它一路召唤着穿过厅堂，
Stood poised on the stair,
伫立在楼梯上保持了平衡，
Fell dreamily down?
又在恍惚间失足跌落。
From the mouths of jugs
那一只只水壶
Perched on many shelves,
栖息在层架上，
I saw substance flowing
从壶嘴中我看到物质在流淌
That cold morning.
那个寒冷的早晨。
Like a slither of eels
那张水灵灵的面颊
That watery cheek
宛若鳗鱼的蜿蜒
As my own tongue kissed
当我的舌头亲吻时
My lips awake.
我的双唇苏醒。
Is this storm's heart? The ground is unstilling itself.
这可是风暴之心？大地正栖栖不安。
My veins are running nowhere. Do the bones cast out their fire?
我的血脉无处流淌。枯骨是否吐尽了它们的火？
Is the seed leaving the old bed? These buds are live as birds.
种子正离开往年的温床？这些蓓蕾像小鸟似的鲜活。
Where, where are tears of the world?
世间的泪水滴落何处，洒在何方？
Let the kisses resound, flat like a butcher's palm;
让亲吻的声音回响吧，平板宛若屠夫的手掌；
Let the gestures freeze; our doom is already decided.
让姿势都凝固僵直吧，我们的厄运早已注定。
All the windows are burning! What's left of my life?
所有的窗户都在燃烧！我的一生剩下点什么？
I want the old rage, the lash of primordial milk!
我需要那古老的狂暴，那原始乳汁的鞭笞！
Goodbye, goodbye, old stones, the time-order is going,
再见吧，再见吧，破旧的碑石，时间秩序正在消失，
I have married my hands to perpetual agitation,
我已将我的双手下嫁给永久的焦躁，
I run, I run to the whistle of money.
我狂奔啊狂奔，奔向金钱的哨声。
Money money money
钱 钱 钱
Water water water
水 水 水
How cool the grass is.
这青草多么凉爽。
Has the bird left?
那鸟儿飞走了吗？
The stalk still sways.
草梗依然摇曳。
Has the worm a shadow?
蠕虫可有阴影？
What do the clouds say?
云朵说了什么？
These sweeps of light undo me.
日光的掠来扫去耗损着我。
Look, look, the ditch is running white!
看哪，看哪，阴沟流淌得发白！
I've more veins than a tree!
我当然比一棵树有更多的脉管！
Kiss me, ashes, I'm falling through a dark swirl.
吻我吧，灰烬，我正跌入一个黑暗的漩涡。
4. The Return
四．归途
The way to the boiler was dark,
回归熔炉之途实在黑暗，
Dark all the way,
黑漆漆的一路，
Over slippery cinders
越过滑溜溜的煤渣
Through the long greenhouse.
穿过长长的温室。3
The roses kept breathing in the dark.
玫瑰在黑暗中坚持喘息。
They had many mouths to breathe with.
他们生就许多张嘴用以呼吸。
My knees made little winds underneath
我的双膝制造出丝丝微风
Where the weeds slept.
杂草就在下面安眠。
There was always a single light
总是只有一盏灯火
Swinging by the fire-pit,
摇曳在炉坑旁，
Where the fireman pulled out roses,
在这里，司炉人将玫瑰拖出，
The big roses, the big bloody clinkers.
大朵大朵的玫瑰，大块大块血色的炉渣。
Once I stayed all night.
我曾经彻夜不眠。
The light in the morning came slowly over the white
清晨的熹光缓慢地笼罩那白色的
Snow.
雪。
There were many kinds of cool
当时有许多种凉爽的
Air.
空气。
Then came steam.
接着便是蒸汽。
Pipe-knock.
敲管道的声音。
Scurry of warm over small plants.
低微的植物上热气乱窜。
Ordnung! ordnung!
秩序！秩序！4
Papa is coming!
爸爸来了！
A fine haze moved off the leaves;
一丝薄雾从叶子上散去；
Frost melted on far panes;
霜向着窗棂四周融化；
The rose, the chrysanthemum turned toward the light.
玫瑰、菊花都将脸转向日光。
Even the hushed forms, the bent yellowy weeds
甚至那些沉寂的形状，弯曲枯黄的杂草
Moved in a slow up-sway.
也都悄然抬头挺身。
5. "It was beginning winter"
五．“正值冬日伊始”
It was beginning winter,
正值冬日伊始，
An in-between time,
一个交替的时节，
The landscape still partly brown:
大地景象仍呈部分棕色：
The bones of weeds kept swinging in the wind,
杂草的劲骨摇曳在疾风中，
Above the blue snow.
在湛蓝的雪野之上。
It was beginning winter,
正值冬日伊始，
The light moved slowly over frozen field,
阳光缓缓地巡行在冰封的原野，
Over the dry seed-crowns,
照耀着干枯无种的籽囊，
The beautiful surviving bones
那些劫后余生的美丽草梗
Swinging in the wind.
摇曳在疾风中。
Light traveled over the wide field;
阳光漫游在广袤的原野；
Stayed.
驻足。
The weeds stopped swinging.
杂草停止摇曳。
The mind moved, not alone,
心灵并非独行，它穿越了
Through the clear air, in the silence.
清澈的空气，毫不惊扰其沉默。
Was it light?
那是光吗？
Was it light within?
那时内在的光吗？
Was it light within light?
那时光中的光吗？
Stillness becoming alive,
静止变得活跃，
Yet still?
仍然如此？5
A lively understandable spirit
一个活脱脱的可知神灵
Once entertained you.
曾经善待过你。
It will come again.
它会再次来临的。
Be still.
静下来吧。
Wait.
等待。
译注：
1.诗人之父死后葬于此公墓(Woodlawn)，当时诗人十四岁。
2.“雨有父亲吗？”语出《圣经 •约伯记》第三十八章二十八节。
3.罗特克曾写到，温室于他是“整个生命的象征，一个子宫，一座人间天
堂”。（《论诗人及诗艺——罗特克文选》，第39页，1965年西雅图版。
4.原文是德文Ordnung! ordnung!。诗人父母皆德国移民。
5.这最后两节诗很难翻译，其中光的指涉应该与《圣经》有关；而其中的
still/stillness与alive/lively的关系是个由来已久的命题。莱辛的《拉
奥孔》开辟了相关讨论。这里表明一种“永远正在”的状态，在英诗中从
Pope的Eloisa to Abelard（《哀洛伊丝致阿伯拉》）到Keats的Ode on a
Grecian Urn《希腊古瓮咏》,从Yeats的拜占庭金鸟到T. S. Eliot所谓的
"forever still" ("Murder in the Cathedral") 的诗歌传统中。我在此只引用T. S. Eliot的几行诗: Words, after speech, reach / Into the
silence. Only by the form, the pattern, / Can words or music
reach / The stillness, as a Chinese jar still / Moves perpetually
in its stillness ("Burnt Norton").