奥登：《凯伯雷歌曲》 第一首 喔，请告诉我什么才是爱的真谛 Ohjuice2022-07-31 03:15:46

《凯伯雷歌曲》

第一首

喔，请告诉我什么才是爱的真谛

O Tell Me the Truth about Love

By W. H. Auden (1907-1973)

作者:W. H. 奥登

徐家祯翻译

 

 

Some say love's a little boy, 
And some say it's a bird, 
Some say it makes the world go round,
Some say that's absurd, 
And when I asked the man next-door, 
Who looked as if he knew, 
His wife got very cross indeed, 
And said it wouldn't do.

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas, 
Or the ham in a temperance hotel? 
Does its odour remind one of llamas, 
Or has it a comforting smell? 
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is, 
Or soft as eiderdown fluff? 
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges? 
O tell me the truth about love.

I looked inside the summer-house; 
It wasn't over there; 
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead, 
And Brighton's bracing air. 
I don't know what the blackbird sang, 
Or what the roses said; 
But it wasn't in the chicken-run, 
Or underneath the bed.

Can it pull extraordinary faces? 
Is it usually sick on a swing? 
Does it spend all its time at the races, 
or fiddling with pieces of string? 
Has it views of its own about money? 
Does it think Patriotism enough? 
Are its stories vulgar but funny? 
O tell me the truth about love.

 

Your feelings when you meet it, I

Am told you can’t forget.

I’ve sought it since I was a child

But haven’t found it yet;
I’m getting on for thirty-five,

And still I do not know

What kind of creature it can be

That bothers people so.

When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I'm picking my nose? 
Will it knock on my door in the morning, 
Or tread in the bus on my toes? 
Will it come like a change in the weather? 
Will its greeting be courteous or bluff? 
Will it alter my life altogether? 
O tell me the truth about love. 

 

 

有人说爱是个小男孩，

也有人说爱是只小鸟。

有人说爱会转动地球，

有人却说这是荒唐无聊。

可是当我请教邻居的时候，

他似乎已经知晓；

但他太太却勃然大怒，

说他什么都不知道。

 

它是否像禁酒旅馆里的火腿，

还是像一套睡衣？

他闻起来是否会让人想起驼绒，

还是会有一种使人舒服的香气？

碰到它的感觉像是接触树篱般刺痛，

还是像摸到鹅绒那么松软无比？

它的边缘是光滑还是尖利，

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

 

我到避暑山庄里去寻找，

可它并不在那里。

我找了美登海德的泰晤士河，

也试了布里顿令人振奋的空气。

我听不懂黑色小鸟的歌唱，

也不知道玫瑰在说什么东西。

可是它既不在养鸡场里，

更不在我的床底。

 

它会做出独特的鬼脸，

还是一上秋千就晕得昏天黑地？

他整天沉迷于赛马，

还是在琴弦上演奏多来米？

它对金钱有没有自己的看法，

还是肯用足够时间去考虑爱国主义？

它的故事有趣好笑还是无聊低级，

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

 

有人告诉我一旦将它遇到，

那种感觉我一定不会忘掉。

我从小就一直在寻找，

可至今却还没找到。

现在我已快要三十五了，

但是我还是并不知道，

到底它是怎样的一种生物，

会让每个人都那么计较。

 

当它来到的时候，

是否毫无预兆就像我想挖挖鼻子？

它会不会在早上敲我的前门，

还是会在公共汽车上踩痛我的脚趾？

它会不会像天气变化那么来得出奇不意？

它的祝贺是虚情假意还是礼貌客气？

它会不会根本上改变我的生活 －

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

 

                                      二0一四年七月二十九日译于

                                      澳大利亚刻来佛寺新红叶山庄