For authorities whose hopes

为了唯利是图的

are shaped by mercenaries?

权威人士？

Writers entrapped by

为了沉迷于

teatime fame and by

茶会上的声誉与往返之舒适的 

commuters" comforts? Not for these

作家？并不是为这些人

the paper nautilus

纸鹦鹉螺

constructs her thin glass shell.

建造了脆弱的玻璃壳。

Giving her perishable

作为她易朽的

souvenir of hope, a dull

希望之纪念品，灰白色的

white outside and smooth-

外壳，边缘平整的

edged inner surface

内面

glossy as the sea, the watchful

大海一般光滑，警惕的

maker of it guards it

创造者

day and night; she scarcely

日日夜夜守卫着它；她几乎

eats until the eggs are hatched.

不吃，直到蛋孵化出来。

Buried eight-fold in her eight

在某种意义上，她是一条

arms, for she is in

章鱼，在八只胳膊的

a sense a devil-

八重覆盖下， 

fish, her glass ram"shorn-cradled freight

玻璃羊角似的摇篮盛装的物品

is hid but is not crushed;

隐藏着，并没有被压碎；

as Hercules, bitten

如同赫拉克勒斯，被

by a crab loyal to the hydra,

一只忠实于九头蛇的螃蟹咬住

was hindered to succeed,

阻挠了他的胜利，

the intensively

密切

watched eggs coming from

照看的蛋

the shell free it when they are freed,--

孵出来，它们自由时也解脱了壳，——

leaving its wasp-nest flaws

它白色的蜂窝上

of white on white, and close-

留下了裂纹，和白而细密的

laid Ionic chiton-folds

爱奥尼亚似皱褶

like the lines in the mane of

如同帕特侬神庙中

a Parthenon horse,

马的鬃毛线条，

round which the arms had

那些胳膊

wound themselves as if they knew love

彼此缠绕，仿佛它们知道

is the only fortress

爱是唯一的坚强堡垒

strong enough to trust to.

足以信赖。