昨日出生舒丹丹 译

Born Yesterday菲利普·拉金

——给莎莉 · 艾米斯
for Sally Amis

紧紧合拢的花蕾,
Tightly-folded bud,
我给你的祝愿
I have wished you something
是别人所不曾给:
None of the others would:
不是像美丽之类
Not the usual stuff
寻常的东西,
About being beautiful,
或流畅地抒写
Or running off a spring
纯真与爱的春天——
Of innocence and love——
他们都会祝愿你那些,
They will all wish you that,
如果证明它有可能实现,
And should it prove possible,
那么,你是个幸运的女孩儿。
 Well, you' re a lucky girl.

但如果不能,就
But if it shouldn' t, then
祝你普普通通;
May you be ordinary;
有着,和其他女人一样的,
Have, like other women,
庸常的资质:
An average of talents:
不丑,也不好看,
Not ugly, not good-looking,
没有什么不合常理
Nothing uncustomary
破坏你的平衡,
To pull you off your balance,
它,本身就不切实际,
That, unworkable itself,
也将阻碍所有其他美德的运行。
Stops all the rest from working.
实际上,是祝你愚钝——
In fact, may you be dull
如果我们这样称呼一种熟练的,
If that is what a skilled,
警觉的,柔韧的,
Vigilant, flexible,
不突显的,入迷的
Unemphasised, enthralled
对幸福的把握。
Catching of happiness is called.


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