英文诗歌 | Blind-Man's Buff 捉迷藏

Blind-Man's Buff
捉迷藏

When silver snow decks Susan's clothes,
当白雪缀满苏珊的衣裳,

And jewel hangs at the shepherd's nose,
珠玉垂挂在牧童的鼻孔上,

The blushing bank is all my care,
这时候呵,我就一心一意

With hearth so red and walls so fair.
让炉火烧红,火光映照四壁。

'Heap the sea-coal; come heap it higher;
“添上煤呀,喂,再添高一点;

The oaken log lay on the fire.'
搁上橡木,让它发出火焰。”

The well-washed stools, a circling row,
洗得干净的板凳摆了一圈,

With lad and lass, how fair the show!
再坐上姑娘和小伙子少年:

The merry can of nut-brown ale,
多美的情景!啤酒喝得快意,

The laughing jest, the love-sick tale,
相思的故事,逗笑的打趣——

Till tired of chat, the game begins;
都说够了,再让游戏开始。

The lasses prick the lads with pins;
妞儿用别针扎了小伙子。

Roger from Dolly twitched the stool,
罗杰把窦莉的凳子抽走,

She falling, kissed the ground, poor fool!
她扑通跌在地上,这蠢丫头!

She blushed so red, with sidelong glance
她羞红了脸,却斜眼看着

At hob-nail Dick, who grieved the chance.
傻瓜狄克,他正为此难过。

But now for blind-man's buff they call;
可是,现在大家要玩捉迷藏,

Of each encumbrance clear the hall—
绊脚的东西赶紧挪到两旁。

Jenny her silken kerchief folds,
珍妮折好她的丝手帕,

And blear-eyed Will the black lot holds.
烂眼边的威尔运气最坏。【威尔(Will)一方面是“威廉”名字的缩写,一方面也可解为“意志”。这里诗人显然语意语意双关,所以把威尔说成是“烂眼边的”、“蠢笨的”等】

Now laughing stops, with' Silence! hush!',
笑声立刻停了:“嘘,安静!”

And Peggy Pout gives Sam a push.
噘嘴的培吉把赛姆一耸。

The blind-man's arms, extended wide,
蒙着眼的威尔手张得太宽,

Sam slips between—'O woe betide
赛姆溜了过去:“呵,倒霉蛋,

Thee, clumsy Will!'—but tittering Kate
蠢笨的威尔!”但嗤笑的凯蒂

Is penned up in the corner straight!
却被挤到一角,逃不出去!

And now Will's eyes beheld the play,
于是,威尔可以睁眼观看了,

He thought his face was t'other way.
他以为他神气得不得了:

Now, Kitty, now; what chance hast thou,
“嘿,嘿,凯蒂呀!你这怎么行?

Roger so near thee trips, I vow!
我说,罗杰离你是多么近!”

She catches him—then Roger ties
她捉住了他——罗杰拿手帕

His own head up—but not his eyes;
也扎住头——但眼睛除外。

For through the slender cloth he sees,
因为他还能透视过丝巾,

And runs at Sam, who slips with ease
他扑向赛姆,但没抱得紧,

His clumsy hold, and, dodging round,
赛姆溜了。苏姬躲来躲去,

Sukey is tumbled on the ground!
一下子绊了一跤,倒在就地。

See what it is to play unfair!
“看!这是不守规矩的结果!

Where cheating is, there's mischief there.
只要欺骗,必然要生灾祸。”

But Roger still pursues the chase—
可是罗杰还是不断追赶,

'He sees! he sees!' cries softly Grace;
“他看见啦!”格雷斯轻轻叫喊; 【格雷斯,一方面是女子的名字,一方面也可解为“仁慈”。这里似语意双关】

O Roger, thou, unskilled in art,
“喝,罗杰,你对玩法太不通,

Must, surer bound, go through thy part!
你还得扎紧些,再作盲人!”

Now Kitty, pert, repeats the rhymes,
凯蒂冒失地把话重复一遍,

And Roger turns him round three times;
于是罗杰又连转了三圈。

Then pauses ere he starts—but Dick
以后他停了一停。而狄克

Was mischief bent upon a trick:
心头一转,出了个坏计策:

Down on his hands and knees he lay,
他以手脚在地上爬伏,

Directly in the blind-man's way—
笔直地挡住盲人的去路,

Then cries out, 'Hem!'—Hodge heard and ran
然后“哼”了一声。——霍吉听了,

With hood-winked chance—sure of his man;
盲目跑去——满以为能捉到:

But down he came. Alas, how frail
当然跌了跤。唉,由此可见,

Our best of hopes, how soon they fail!
我们的希望多脆弱,多快就完!

With crimson drops he stains the ground,
他的鲜血一滴滴落在地上,

Confusion startles all around.
大家立刻惊得一片慌张。

Poor piteous Dick supports his head,
可怜的狄克捧着他的头,

And fain would cure the hurt he made;
恨不得自己治好他的伤口。

But Kitty hasted with a key,
但凯蒂拿着钥匙匆匆跑开,

And down his back they straight convey
于是他们朝他的背浇下来

The cold relief—the blood is stayed,
一桶冷水;血总算不再流,

And Hodge again holds up his head.
霍吉又能直竖起他的头。

Such are the fortunes of the game,
这就是这游戏的大致情形;

And those who play should stop the same
凡是游戏的,为了避免不幸,

By wholesome laws, such as: all those
应该订下好的规章,例如:

Who on the blinded man impose
谁要使蒙眼的人受骗吃苦,

Stand in his stead, as long a-gone
他也得身受。好似在古昔,

When men were first a nation grown;
人们群居而没有法律,

Lawless they lived—till wantonness
这使得暴乱和自由开始

And liberty began to increase,
蔓延,以致一国人民彼此

And one man lay in another's way;
妨害和欺凌,于是有了法律,

Then laws were made to keep fair play.
就为大家办事都公平合理。

作者简介

威廉·布莱克(William Blake,1757年11月28日—1827年8月12日),英国第一位重要的浪漫主义诗人、版画家,英国文学史上最重要的伟大诗人之一,虔诚的基督教徒。

译者简介

穆旦(1918年4月5日—1977年2月26日),原名查良铮,曾用笔名梁真。祖籍浙江省海宁市袁花镇,出生于天津。现代主义诗人、翻译家。

穆旦于20世纪40年代出版了《探险队》《穆旦诗集(1939~1945)》《旗》三部诗集,将西欧现代主义和中国诗歌传统结合起来,诗风富于象征寓意和心灵思辨,是“九叶诗派”的代表性诗人。20世纪80年代之后,许多现代文学专家推其为现代诗歌第一人。