STRAPPED at the center of the blazing wheel,

被绑在闪耀的轮子的中心，

His flesh ice-white against the shattered mask,

他雪白的肉体倚着筋疲力尽的罩体，

He tears at the easy clasp, his sobbing breaths

他撕扯舒适的扣子，他湿透的呼吸

Misting the fresh blood lightening to flame,

雾化鲜血发光为火、变暗

Darkening to smoke; trapped there in pain

成烟；他被痛苦地困在那里，

And fire and breathlessness, he struggles free

在火和闷息之中，奋力挣扎，自由地

Into the sunlight of the upper sky

进入上空的阳光——

And falls, a quiet bundle in the sky,

又降下，空中安静的一束，

The miles to warmth, to air, to waking:

向温暖，向空气，向清醒的里程：

To the great flowering of his life, the hemisphere

向他生命壮烈的绽放，保留

That holds his dangling years. In its long slow sway

他悬荡岁月的半球。在漫长又缓慢的摇摆中

The world steadies and is almost still. …

世界稳定了，而几乎静寂……

He is alone; and hangs in knowledge

他孓身一人；悬于脆弱、

Slight, separate, estranged: a lonely eye

单独、疏离的知识中：一只孤独的眼

Reading a child’s first scrawl, the carrier’s wake

读着孩子的首次涂鸦，航空母舰的尾迹[1]——

The traveling milk-like circle of a miss.

一次未击中[2]所荡开的乳状圆圈

Beside the plant-like genius of the smoke

在植物般的烟气精灵旁边，烟气

That shades, on the little deck, the little blaze

在小甲板上，遮住小火焰，那火焰

Toy-like as the glitter of the wing-guns,

犹如玩具，如翼枪的闪光，

Shining as the fragile sun-marked plane

亮耀如带着太阳标记的、趋近而渐大的

That grows to him, rubbed silver tipped with flame.

脆弱飞机，那擦拭过的银，弹尖喷着烈焰。

译注：

[1]此处原文为“wake”，另有“守夜”之意。

[2]此处原文为“a miss”，除了“一次未击中”之意，又以其另一义（“一位女士”），加入此句对“母性”的指涉。