In the beginning
最初
In the beginning was the three-pointed star,
One smile of light across the empty face;
One bough of bone across the rooting air,
The substance forked that marrowed the first sun;
And, burning ciphers on the round of space,
Heaven and hell mixed as they spun.
最初是那三角的星星，
一丝光的微笑掠过空虚的脸；
一条骨的枝干穿越生根的空气，
物质分裂，构成太阳最初的精髓；
浑圆的天地燃烧着虚无，
天堂和地狱在旋转中混为一体。
In the beginning was the pale signature,
Three-syllabled and starry as the smile;
And after came the imprints on the water,
Stamp of the minted face upon the moon;
The blood that touched the crosstree and the grail
Touched the first cloud and left a sign.
最初是那苍白的署名，
三个音节，微笑般闪烁星光；
随后水面上出现印迹，
月亮显现铸造脸面的印痕；
触及桅顶横衍和圣杯的鲜血
触及最初的云彩，留下一丝痕迹。
In the beginning was the mounting fire
That set alight the weathers from a spark,
A three-eyed, red-eyed spark, blunt as a flower;
Life rose and spouted from the rolling seas,
Burst in the roots, pumped from the earth and rock
The secret oils that drive the grass.
最初是那上升的火苗，
一点星火点燃所有的天气，
三眼的星火，透出红光，迟钝如花；
生命萌发，自翻滚的大海喷涌而出，
从根须处迸发，渗自大地和岩石，
神秘的油催动青草成长。
In the beginning was the word, the word
That from the solid bases of the light
Abstracted all the letters of the void;
And from the cloudy bases of the breath
The word flowed up, translating to the heart
First characters of birth and death.
最初是词语，那词语
源自光的坚实底座，
抽象成所有虚无的字母；
从呼吸那云雾缭绕的底座
词语不断涌现，向内心
传译生死最初的字符。
In the beginning was the secret brain.
The brain was celled and soldered in the thought
Before the pitch was forking to a sun;
Before the veins were shaking in their sieve,
Blood shot and scattered to the winds of light
The ribbed original of love.
最初是那神秘的大脑。
脑细胞在思想中不断分裂衔接，
随后音叉迎着太阳分化；
在滤网震动血脉之前，
血液喷涌，迎着光束播撒
源初棱角分明的爱。
作者简介
狄兰·托马斯（Dylan Thomas，1914年10月27日—1953年11月9日），威尔士诗人、作家。最著名的作品包括十九行诗《不要温和地走进那个良夜》。
