这件衬衫的后片、抵肩、码数，做工精湛
The back, the yoke, the yardage. Lapped seams,
领口处接缝有重叠的搭接
The nearly invisible stitches along the collar
细致的针脚几乎不露痕迹。加工地
Turned in a sweatshop by Koreans or Malaysians
在一家血汗工厂，韩国或马来西亚。
Gossiping over tea and noodles on their break
休息时，他们闲聊茶和面包，或一边讲钱讲政治
Or talking money or politics while one fitted
一边将这件胳膊的袖口装上
This armpiece with its overseam to the band
直到袖带扣系在我的衬衫手腕上。
Of cuff I button at my wrist. The presser, the cutter,
压板机，裁剪机，绞线机，轧布机。
The wringer, the mangle. The needle, the union,
针，接头，踏板，梭芯，编码。以及
The treadle, the bobbin. The code. The infamous blaze
工会和工厂规范。关于血汗工厂
At the Triangle Factory in nineteen-eleven.
我只记得一场臭名昭著的大火
One hundred and forty-six died in the flames
1911年3月25日，16:40分
On the ninth floor, no hydrants, no fire escapes—
发生在三角女式衬衣工厂。一百四十六人丧生
在第九层，没有消防设备，没有逃生通道——
The witness in a building across the street
Who watched how a young man helped a girl to step
街对面一栋建筑中的见证人
Up to the windowsill, then held her out
他看着一个年轻人如何帮助女孩跳楼
将女子托到窗台上，踩到窗框外侧
Away from the masonry wall and let her drop.
And then another. As if he were helping them up
然后松手让她在墙外掉落。然后托出第二个，
To enter a streetcar, and not eternity.
好像是扶她登上一辆有轨电车，
而不是通往永生的末路
A third before he dropped her put her arms
Around his neck and kissed him. Then he held
第四个在他抱到窗外时，她将双臂
Her into space, and dropped her. Almost at once
环抱男子的颈脖，轻轻吻了他。
接着，他松开了手。
He stepped to the sill himself, his jacket flared
And fluttered up from his shirt as he came down,
目送她掉下去。最后他自己
Air filling up the legs of his gray trousers—
也登上了窗台，纵身一跃时，
他的夹克衫已经闪着火光，衬衫在风中翻卷
Like Hart Crane’s Bedlamite, “shrill shirt ballooning.”
Wonderful how the pattern matches perfectly
风灌满了他膨胀的裤管—
Across the placket and over the twin bar-tacked
就像哈特·克兰在《桥》里写的自杀者一样，
“衬衫在呼啸膨胀，如气球”。
Corners of both pockets, like a strict rhyme
Or a major chord. Prints, plaids, checks,
我不知道那奇妙的花式图案，如何与门襟和
Houndstooth, Tattersall, Madras. The clan tartans
双杆密钉完美匹配，胸前口袋的四角，
仿佛严谨的大和弦。印刷品，格子布，支票，
Invented by mill-owners inspired by the hoax of Ossian,
To control their savage Scottish workers, tamed
千鸟格，塔特索尔，马德拉斯。苏格兰格子呢
By a fabricated heraldry: MacGregor,
由工厂主发明，伪造的纹章
灵感来自于波斯人的骗局，用以控制
Bailey, MacMartin. The kilt, devised for workers
其野蛮的苏格兰工人。马基高，麦马丁
To wear among the dusty clattering looms.
Weavers, carders, spinners. The loader,
在灰尘满天的作坊里，苏格兰短裙
专为工人在轰隆作响的织布机旁工作时
The docker, the navvy. The planter, the picker, the sorter
穿着设计。织布工，整烫工，纺纱工。装载机
Sweating at her machine in a litter of cotton
As slaves in calico headrags sweated in fields:
码头工人，海军。播种机，分拣机
而在机器旁，垫上的一包包棉花出于
George Herbert, your descendant is a Black
棉花的种植工和采摘工们
Lady in South Carolina, her name is Irma
她们裹着印花头巾，在棉花地里挥汗如雨：
And she inspected my shirt. Its color and fit
乔治·赫伯特，也许你的后裔是这位
And feel and its clean smell have satisfied
来自南卡罗来纳州的黑人女子，
Both her and me. We have culled its cost and quality
她的名字叫爱玛，印在衬衫标签上，
Down to the buttons of simulated bone,
正是她检验了我买下的这件衬衫。
The buttonholes, the sizing, the facing, the characters
颜色、尺寸、手感、干净的气味令她
Printed in black on neckband and tail. The shape,
和我都感到愉悦。我对这件衬衫的价格和品质都
The label, the labor, the color, the shade. The shirt.
非常满意，包括那些仿骨的纽扣
纽扣孔，大小，饰面，以及在后领的
黑色印刷字符、形状，
标签，人工，颜色深浅，阴影
都教我如此倾心，这件我手中所持的衬衫。
译注
[1] 臭名昭著的大火：指美国纽约华盛顿三角女式衬衣厂高楼大火，改写历史的一场大火。
[2] 哈特·克兰：（Hart Crane, 1899-1932），美国诗人，有长诗《桥》，指布鲁克林大桥。
[3] 马基高（MacGregor）等：洋名全是面料或者公司服装品牌，好象叙述服装史。
[4] 乔治·赫伯特，威尔士诗人，诗人跟历史上的诗人开个玩笑，错觉联想。