那时，我还是

I was only a young man

一个年轻人。那天晚上，

In those days. On that evening

天气寒冷刺骨，

The cold was so God damned

四处空荡荡的。

Bitter there was nothing.

空无一物。我跟一个女人

Nothing. I was in trouble

产生了一点儿麻烦。周围空无一物，

With a woman, and there was nothing

只有我，和沉寂的雪。

There but me and dead snow.

我站在街角，被风雪

I stood on the street corner

肆意扫荡的

In Minneapolis, lashed

明尼阿波利斯的街角。

This way and that.

风从某个坑洞里升起来，

Wind rose from some pit,

追赶着我。

Hunting me.

下一辆去往圣保罗的汽车，

Another bus to Saint Paul

将在三小时之内抵达，

Would arrive in three hours,

如果我幸运的话。

If I was lucky.

后来，那个年轻的苏族人*

Then the young Sioux

出现在我身边。他有着我这个年龄

Loomed beside me, his scars

才会有的伤疤。

Were just my age.

这里将很久都不会

Ain't got no bus here

再来汽车了，他说。

A long time, he said.

你有足够的钱

You got enough money

回家吗？

To get home on?

他们把你的手

What did they do

怎么了？我反问他。

To your hand? I answered.

他把钩子举起来，伸进那可怖的星光，

He raised up his hook into the terrible starlight

在风中挥舞了一下。

And slashed the wind.

喔，那个呀？他说。

Oh, that? he said.

我曾经和一个女人度过了一段糟糕的时光。喏，

I had a bad time with a woman. Here,

拿着这个。

You take this.

你曾有过这种体验吗：一个人

Did you ever feel a man hold

用一只钩子

Sixty-five cents

拿着65美分，

In a hook,

然后

And place it

轻轻地

Gently

将它放在你冰冷的手中？

In your freezing hand?

我接了钱。

I took it.

我并不需要这点钱。

It wasn't the money I needed.

但是我接下了它。

But I took it.

译注

*苏族人，居住于北美的一支印第安人。