雙語·《西爾維婭·普拉斯詩集》 賢 士

Magi
賢 士

The abstracts hover like dull angels:
各種抽象盤旋像遲鈍的天使：

Nothing so vulgar as a nose or an eye
沒有與鼻、眼一樣庸俗的東西

Bossing the ethereal blanks of their face-ovals.
主宰鵝蛋臉的超俗、無邪。

Their whiteness bears no relation to laundry,
它們的白色與洗凈的衣服無關(guān)，

Snow, chalk or suchlike. They’re
也與雪、粉筆這類無關(guān)。它們是

The real thing, all right:the Good, the True—
真實(shí)之物，完全真實(shí)：善良，真實(shí)——

Salutary and pure as boiled water,
仿佛沸水那樣效果好、純真，

Loveless as the multiplication table.
仿佛乘法計(jì)算表那樣無趣。

While the child smiles into thin air.
而孩子的微笑飄進(jìn)輕薄空氣中。

Six months in the world, and she is able
六個(gè)月大的嬰兒，她可以

To rock on all fours like a padded hammock.
四肢著地爬，像有襯墊的吊床。

For her, the heavy notion of Evil
對(duì)她而言，陰沉的罪惡之念

Attending her cot is less than a belly ache,
籠罩著嬰兒床，比不上肚子疼痛，

And Love the mother of milk, no theory.
母親哺乳之愛，根本不是學(xué)說。

They mistake their star, these papery godfolk.
他們將圣誕星弄錯(cuò)了，這些神之民間傳說。

They want the crib of some lamp-headed Plato.
他們想要嬰兒有柏拉圖般的智慧。

Let them astound his heart with their merit.
用他們的功績震撼他的心。

What girl ever flourished in such company?
這樣的陪伴，怎樣的女孩茁壯成長？

(1960. p.148. No.130)
* * *