Isaac sat on the swing

以撒坐在秋千上

On his slaked wooden porch

在那平静的长廊

Looking out past a field

目光掠过一片田野

where fat sheep grazed.

那儿羊群在吃草。

The tilled field ended

耕种后的田野遥遥延伸

with a twisted fence

直到一处纠结的篱笆

beyond which old oaks intertwined

那之后是彼此缠绕的老橡树

so that slant western light

如此便被西斜的夕光

barely shone through.

裸照着。

He heard a wail unwind

他听见一声悲鸣

From the obscuring trees,

从昏暗的树林中传来，

Assuming it must be

想着那一定是

some preyed-on animal.

某种被猎之物。

The porch’s overhang

Sheltered vexed Isaac from

长廊的垂檐

The sleeting rain and wind,

庇护着不安的以撒

From humid summer heat

免于雨雪和风暴的侵袭，

Of that late breezeless hour,

免于那无风的晚近时刻

But could not shelter him

来自夏日的湿热，

From his own thoughts

却不能庇护他

Because one can’t think not to think

免于自己的思想

Or choose to block our memory,

因为一个人无法想要不去思想

But more because what burdened him,

或是决意阻断记忆，

I must assume,

但更是因为那负累于他的，

Was inescapable uncertainty—

我想，

Like weather in his mind—

是难以逃脱的无常――

For nothing that he could define.

就像他心中的气候

His memory surged back

没有什么是他能够去限定的

To when he told a joke about

A crippled man,

他的记忆涌流

Cuckolded by his wife,

回到那时，当他调笑

Forgetting that there was

一个残疾人，

A short, clubfooted man there in the room,

正被妻子的不贞所负，

And he was overwhelmed

他忘记了，在房间里的

By his incredible stupidity

是一个矮小、畸足的男人，

When tidal silence

他被自己难以置信的蠢行

Rippled through the audience.

覆没

How many times had he seen

潮水般的沉默

Needless pain inflicted by

在观者之间起伏

Somebody unaware,

Without intention to cause hurt?

多少次他曾看见

We just don’t ever know enough,

那由无意的毁损

Or have sufficient time

所带来的

To think enough, Isaac

无益的痛苦？

Commiserated to himself,

我们从未足够认识，

Or maybe some occurrences,

或有充裕的时间

Isaac half wished,

足够思想，以撒

Are best not understood

安慰着自己，

Or best just left to accident.

或许一些事故，

Perhaps the vague remorse—

那出自他不完全的意愿的，

If that was that he felt—

最好不被理解

Was larger, more impersonal:

或是留给偶然。

The failure to alleviate

A stranger’s suffering

这模糊的悔恨――

Or take that starved cat in

如果那是他所感到的――

Who’s rubbing bleakly

也许更大，更客观：

Up against the window pane?

无力去

Yet was such suffering

减缓一个陌生人的痛苦

Inseparable from

或是收留那只

Some deep, inscrutable design

在窗玻璃上

Like that cry from the woods

悲哀地擦着爪子的猫？

Or his unwilled stupidity?

Why blame himself,

然而这样的痛苦

He surely must have thought,

与某种深刻而难言的计划

For what has always been

不可分离

Unchangeable—

就像那树林里的悲鸣

Like causing unintended pain,

或他自己无意的蠢行？

Like wishing not to think

为什么自责，

The thoughts one thinks?

他一定思索过了，

And Isaac’s memory flew back

是为了那从来都

To when he was a boy before

不变更之物――

The soldiers came,

就像招致不期然的痛苦，

To when his father took

就像希望不去思想

The silver candelabrum

那正被思想的？

That his grandfather

Had polished every year

以撒的记忆涌流

To celebrate the feast of lights,

回到那时，当他还是个男孩子

And, for protection,

在士兵来临之前，

Buried it within the woods.

他的父亲取出

He knows he cannot know

他外祖父

Himself, and Isaac

每年都擦亮了

Could not figure out, although

用来庆祝圣烛节的

He must have tried,

银烛台，

Whether his dark-eyed father

为了安全，

Dug the candelabrum out

把它埋在树林里。

After the shouting soldiers left,

Nor could he find a reason why

他知道他无法认识

His father might

他自己，尽管尝试过

Have left it there to merge

以撒

With other fossils of defeat,

仍猜不出，

As if it were a sacrifice

他那黑眼睛的父亲

To the unknown, without

是否在叫喊着的士兵离开之后

An explanation

又掘出了那支烛台，

That could ease a young man’s mind.

他也找不出一个理由可以解释

为什么他的父亲

也许已经把它留在那儿

与其他失败的遗迹融为一体，

仿佛它是

未知之物的祭品，

没有任何解释

能够抚慰一个年轻人的心。