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