The day the war against Iraq begins

入侵伊拉克的战争打响时

I’m photographing the yellow daffodils

我在对着黄水仙拍照

With their outstretched arms and ruffled cups

枝叶伸展花盘褶皱

Blowing in the wind of Jesus Green

那些黄水仙在基督的绿风中摇摆。

Edging the lush grassy moving river

沿着绿草相伴流动的河水

Along with the swans and ducks

还有河里的天鹅和鸭子，

Under a soft March Cambridge sky

剑桥镇一样温柔的天空

Embellishing the earth like a hand

像一双妙手美化着大地

Starting to illustrate a children’s book

它开始描画一本儿童图书

Where people in light clothes come out

人们穿着轻薄的衣服跑出来

To play, to frisk and run about

玩耍，撒欢，和他们的情人，朋友，动物和孩子们

With their lovers, friends, animals, and children

一起跑来跑去

As down every stony back road of history

就像每条石头砌成的历史之路

They’ve always done in the peaceful springs

这一切都在平静的春天做成

—Which in a sense is also hell because

——从某种意义上来说它也是地狱

The daffodils do look as if they dance

因为黄水仙看起来会跳舞

And make some of us in the park want to dance

而且让在公园里的我们也想跳舞

And breathe deeply and I know that

还有深呼吸，而且我知道

Being able to eat and incorporate beauty like this

我有特权可以吃东西并且吸纳这样的美好

I am privileged and by that token can

于是我们就可以尝尝痛苦，把它在我的舌尖上滚来滚去

Taste pain, roll it on my tongue, it’s good

这玩意儿不错，

The cruel wars are good the stupidity is good,

残酷的战争不错，愚蠢不错

The primates hiding in their caves are very good,

藏在洞穴里的原始人非常不错，

They do their best, which explains poetry.

他们尽力了，这可以解释为什么有诗歌。

What explains poetry is that life is hard

诗歌存在是因为生活是艰难的

But better than the alternatives,

但比它的替代品，“啥都不做”和“啥都没有”

The no and the nothing. Look at this light

要好些。

And color, a splash of brilliant yellow

看那光和色，那泼洒的亮黄色

Punctuating an emerald text, white swans

就像在翠绿色的文本上画重点，白天鹅

And mottled brown ducks floating quietly along

和有斑点的褐色鸭子静静地

Whole and alive, like an untorn language

漂在整条河上，就像一种未被撕破的语言

That lacks nothing, that excludes

不缺乏任何东西，也不排斥任何东西。

Nothing. Period. Don’t you think

好了，言归正传。你不觉得，

It is our business to defend it

我们的工作就是要保卫它们

Even the day our masters start a war?

保卫我们看到黄水仙的日子，

To defend the day we see the daffodils?

甚至在这一天我们的主人发动了战争？