那么就让咱们去吧，我和你，

Let us go then, you and I,

趁黄昏正铺展在天际

When the evening is spread out against the sky

像一个上了麻醉的病人躺在手术台上：

Like a patient etherized upon a table;

让咱们去吧，穿过几条行人稀少的大街小巷，

Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,

到那临时过夜的廉价小客店

The muttering retreats

到满地是锯屑和牡蛎壳的饭店

Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels

那夜夜纷扰

And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:

人声哺杂的去处：

Streets that follow like a tedious argument

街巷接着街巷像一场用心诡诈冗长乏味的辩论

Of insidious intent

要把你引向一个令人困惑的问题……

To lead you to an overwhelming question ...

“那是什么？”哦，你别问，

Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

让咱们去作一次访问。

Let us go and make our visit.

房间里女人们来往穿梭

In the room the women come and go

谈论着米开朗琪罗。

Talking of Michelangelo.

黄色的雾在窗玻璃上蹭着它的背，

The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,

黄色的烟在窗玻璃上擦着鼻子和嘴，

The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes,

把舌头舔进黄昏的各个角落，

Licked its tongue into the corners of the evening,

在阴沟里的水塘上面流连，

Lingered upon the pools that stand in drains,

让烟肉里飘落的烟炱跌个仰面朝天，

Let fall upon its back the soot that falls from chimneys,

悄悄溜过平台，猛地一跳，

Slipped by the terrace, made a sudden leap,

眼见这是个温柔的十月之夜，

And seeing that it was a soft October night,

围着房子绕了一圈，便沉入了睡乡。

Curled once about the house, and fell asleep.

准会有足够的时间

And indeed there will be time

让黄色的烟雾溜过大街

For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,

在窗玻璃上蹭它的背脊；

Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;

准会有时间，准会有时间

There will be time, there will be time

准备好一副面孔去会见你要会见的那些面孔

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

会有时间去谋杀和创造，

There will be time to murder and create,

也会有时间让那些在你的盘子里

And time for all the works and days of hands

拿起或放上一个疑问的庄稼汉干活和过节；

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

有你的时间，也有我的时间，

Time for you and time for me,

还有让你犹豫不决一百次的时间，

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

一百次想入非非又作出修正的时间，

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

在你吃一片烤面包和喝茶之前。

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

房间里女人们来往穿梭

In the room the women come and go

谈论着米开朗琪罗。

Talking of Michelangelo.

准会有时间

And indeed there will be time

让你怀疑，“我敢吗？”“我敢吗？”

To wonder, “Do I dare?” and, “Do I dare?”

会有时间掉转身子走下楼去，

Time to turn back and descend the stair,

带着我头发中央那块秃斑——

With a bald spot in the middle of my hair —

(他们准会说：“瞧他的头发变得多稀！")

(They will say: “How his hair is growing thin!”)

我的大礼服，我的硬领紧紧地顶着我的下巴，

My morning coat, my collar mounting firmly to the chin,

我的领带又贵重又朴素，但只凭一根简朴的别针表明

My necktie rich and modest, but asserted by a simple pin —

        它的存在——

(They will say: “But how his arms and legs are thin!”)

(他们准会说：“可是他的胳膊和大腿多细！”)

Do I dare

我敢惊扰

Disturb the universe?

这个世界吗？

In a minute there is time

一分钟里有足够的时间

For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

作出一分钟就会变更的决定和修正。

For I have known them all already, known them all:

因为我对它们这一切早已熟悉，熟悉它们这一切——

Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,

熟悉这些黄昏，晨朝和午后，

I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;

我用咖啡勺把我的生命作了分配；

I know the voices dying with a dying fall

我知道从远远的那个房间传来的音乐下面

Beneath the music from a farther room.

人语声随着那渐渐消沉的节奏里正渐趋消寂。

               So how should I presume?

								所以我还该怎样猜测？

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—

我早已领教过那些眼睛，领教过所有那些眼睛——

The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,

那些说一句客套话盯着你看的眼睛，

And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,

等我被客套制住了，趴倒在一根别针尖上，

When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,

等我被别针钉住了，在墙上挣扎扭动，

Then how should I begin

那我该怎样开始

To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?

把我的日子和习惯的残余一股脑儿吐个干净？

               And how should I presume?

								我还该怎样猜测？

And I have known the arms already, known them all—

我早已熟悉那些臂膀，熟悉它们一切——

Arms that are braceleted and white and bare

那戴着手镯的臂膀，赤裸而白皙

(But in the lamplight, downed with light brown hair!)

（可以是在灯光下，长满了一层浅棕色的软毛！）

Is it perfume from a dress

是衣衫上飘来的芳香

That makes me so digress?

弄得我这样离题万里？

Arms that lie along a table, or wrap about a shawl.

那些搁在桌边，或者裹着围巾的臂膀。

               And should I then presume?

								我还该怎样猜测？

               And how should I begin?

								我又该怎样开始？

Shall I say, I have gone at dusk through narrow streets

要我说，在黄昏时分我已走遍了小街狭巷

And watched the smoke that rises from the pipes

也观看了那些穿着衬衫在窗口探出身子的孤独的男人

Of lonely men in shirt-sleeves, leaning out of windows? ...

从他们的烟斗里冒出的烟？……

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

我真该变成一副粗粝的爪子

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

急匆匆穿过静寂的海底。

And the afternoon, the evening, sleeps so peacefully!

而且这午后，这黄昏，睡得多安静！

Smoothed by long fingers,

让修长的手指抚慰着，

Asleep ... tired ... or it malingers,

睡熟了……倦极了……或者是在装病，

Stretched on the floor, here beside you and me.

张开身子躺在地板上，在这儿，在你和我身边。

Should I, after tea and cakes and ices,

喝过茶，吃过糕点和冰淇淋，难道我就会

Have the strength to force the moment to its crisis?

有气力把这瞬间推向一个转折点？

But though I have wept and fasted, wept and prayed,

尽管我哭过了也斋戒过了，哭过了也祈祷过了，

Though I have seen my head (grown slightly bald) brought in upon a platter,

尽管我已经看见我的头颅（稍微有点秃了）给放在盘子里端了进来，

I am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;

我可不是先知——这一点在这儿无关紧要；

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

我已经看到我的伟大的时刻在忽隐忽现地闪烁，

And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

我也看到了那永恒的男仆拿着我的上衣在暗暗窃笑，

And in short, I was afraid.

总之一句话，我害怕。

And would it have been worth it, after all,

那么到底值不值得，

After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,

喝过了酒，吃过了果酱和茶以后，

Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,

在杯盘之间，在人们对你和我的闲聊之间，

Would it have been worth while,

值不值得带着微笑

To have bitten off the matter with a smile,

把这件事就此一口啃掉，

To have squeezed the universe into a ball

把这世界捏成一个球

To roll it towards some overwhelming question,

然后把它滚向一个使人窘困的问题，

To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,

说：“我是拉撒路，从死去的人们那儿来，

Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—

我回来告诉你们一切，我要告诉你们一切。”——

If one, settling a pillow by her head

要是有个人，她一面把枕头往头边一塞，

               Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;

								却说：“那压根儿不是我的意思。

               That is not it, at all.”

								不是那个意思，压根儿不是。”

And would it have been worth it, after all,

到底值不值得这样，

Would it have been worth while,

值不值得为此破费工夫，

After the sunsets and the dooryards and the sprinkled streets,

经过多少次日落，多少个庭园和多少微雨迷濛的大街小巷，

After the novels, after the teacups, after the skirts that trail along the floor—

经过多少部小说，多少只茶杯和多少条裙裾曳过地板以后——

And this, and so much more?—

还要来这一套，还有那么多吗？——

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

要说出我真想说的意思根本不可能！

But as if a magic lantern threw the nerves in patterns on a screen:

可是仿佛有一盏幻灯把神经变成图案投射在屏幕上：

Would it have been worth while

这值不值得破费工夫

If one, settling a pillow or throwing off a shawl,

如果有个人，放上一只枕头或者甩下一条头巾，

And turning toward the window, should say:

一面向窗子转过身去，却说：

               “That is not it at all,

								“那压根儿不是，

               That is not what I meant, at all.”

								那压根儿不是我的意思。”

No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;

不！我不是哈姆雷特王子，也不想成为王子；

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

我是侍从大臣，一个适合给帝王公侯出游

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

炫耀威风的人，发一两次脾气，

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

向王子提点忠告；毫无疑问，是个随和的爪牙，

Deferential, glad to be of use,

恭顺谦虚，以对别人有用而感到高兴，

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

精明，细心而又慎微谨小；

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

满脑子高超的判断，只是稍微有些迟钝；

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

有时，的确，近乎荒唐可笑——

Almost, at times, the Fool.

有时，差不多是个丑角。

I grow old ... I grow old ...

我老啦……我老啦……

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

我要穿裤腿卷上翻边的裤子。

Shall I part my hair behind?   Do I dare to eat a peach?

要不要把我的头发在后脑分开？我敢吃下一只桃子吗？

I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.

我要穿上白法兰绒的长裤，在海滨散步。

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

我听到美人鱼在歌唱，一个对着一个唱。

I do not think that they will sing to me.

我可不想她们会对我歌唱。

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves

我看见她们乘着波浪向大海驰去

Combing the white hair of the waves blown back

一面梳理着风中向后纷披的波浪的白发

When the wind blows the water white and black.

当大风乍起把海水吹成黑白相间的时候。

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea

我们因海底的姑娘而逗留在大海的闺房

By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown

她们戴着红的和棕色的海草编成的花环

Till human voices wake us, and we drown.

直到人类的声音把我们唤醒，我们便溺水而亡。