2019年诺贝尔文学奖得主彼得·汉德克诗歌《Song of the Childhood》翻译
Song of the Childhood
童年之歌
by Peter Handke
彼得·汉德克
(From The Film “Wings of Desire”, dir. WimWenders, 1987)
(来自电影《欲望之翼》,1987年)
When the child was a child
It walked with its arms swinging,
wanted the brook to be a river,
the river to be a torrent,
and this puddle to be the sea.
当孩子处于孩提,
走起路来会挥动着臂膀,
想要小溪成为大河,
让水坑化作汪洋。
When the child was a child,
it didn’t know that it was a child,
everything was soulful,
and all souls were one.
当孩子处于孩提,
他并不能认清自己,
所有的一切都有灵魂,
所有的灵魂都会归一。
When the child was a child,
it had no opinion about anything,
had no habits,
it often sat cross-legged,
took off running,
had a cowlick in its hair,
and made no faces when photographed.
当孩子处于孩提,
对任何事物都不持观点,
没养成任何习惯,
双腿交叉而坐,
光着脚奔跑,
头发打了一个卷,
拍照时也不做鬼脸
When the child was a child,
It was the time for these questions:
Why am I me, and why not you?
Why am I here, and why not there?
When did time begin, and where does space end?
Is life under the sun not just a dream?
Is what I see and hear and smell
not just an illusion of a world before the world?
Given the facts of evil and people.
does evil really exist?
How can it be that I, who I am,
didn’t exist before I came to be,
and that, someday, I, who I am,
will no longer be who I am?
当孩子处于孩提,
问这些问题恰逢其时:
我为什么是我,为什么不是你?
我为什么在这里,而不是在那里?
时间从何处开始,空间在何处消失?
太阳下的生活是不是一场梦?
我看到的、听到的、闻到的这一切,
是否只是此前一个世界的幻觉?
才会有关于邪恶和人们的事实。
邪恶是否真的存在?
我,我是谁,这又如何而来,
既然在我来成为谁之前并不存在;
而有一天,我,我是谁,
将不再是此刻的状态。
When the child was a child,
It choked on spinach, on peas, on rice pudding,
and on steamed cauliflower,
and eats all of those now, and not just because it has to.
当孩子处于孩提,
吃菠菜、豌豆和米饭布丁都能噎着自己,
连清蒸花椰菜也要防备,
而现在能把它们全部吃掉,且并非因为迫不得已。
When the child was a child,
it awoke once in a strange bed,
and now does so again and again.
Many people, then, seemed beautiful,
and now only a few do, by sheer luck.
当孩子处于孩提,
曾在一张陌生的床上醒来,
而现在早就习以为常,没什么大不了。
那时候,很多人都很美好,
而现在美好的人却很少,他们只是运气好。
It had visualized a clear image of Paradise,
and now can at most guess,
could not conceive of nothingness,
and shudders today at the thought.
儿时清晰地幻想出天堂是什么样,
而现在想都快要懒得想;
那时候不会去想虚无,
而现在想一想就心里发慌。
When the child was a child,
It played with enthusiasm,
and, now, has just as much excitement as then,
but only when it concerns its work.
当孩子处于孩提,
玩耍时都很尽情;
而,现在,能激发出同样的兴奋
用在跟工作有关的事情。
When the child was a child,
It was enough for it to eat an apple, …bread,
And so it is even now.
当孩子处于孩提,
能够吃下一个苹果,一块面包,
现在依然能做到。
When the child was a child,
Berries filled its hand as only berries do,
and do even now,
Fresh walnuts made its tongue raw,
and do even now,
it had, on every mountaintop,
the longing for a higher mountain yet,
and in every city,
the longing for an even greater city,
and that is still so,
It reached for cherries in topmost branches of trees
with an elation it still has today,
has a shyness in front of strangers,
and has that even now.
It awaited the first snow,
And waits that way even now.
当孩子处于孩提,
手里捧着满满的浆果,仿佛连手都成了浆果,
而现在依然能这样做;
新鲜的核桃让他的舌头变得有些僵硬,
现在依然能;
他在每个山顶上,都心怀着
攀登上更高山顶的渴望;
而在每座城市,
都渴望走向更大的城市;
现在依然是;
他爬到最高的树梢上摘樱桃,
到现在都还在为此事骄傲;
在陌生人面前很害羞,
害羞到现在都还有残留。
他曾经等待着第一场雪,
老样子不停歇。
When the child was a child,
It threw a stick like a lance against a tree,
And it quivers there still today.
当孩子处于孩提,
把棍子像长矛一样朝着大树掷投,
那棵树到现在还在颤抖。
作者简介:
彼得·汉德克(Peter Handke),1942年出生,奥地利小说家、剧作家。当代德语文学最重要的作家之一,也是最具争议的作家之一。1973年获毕希纳奖,2009年获卡夫卡文学奖,2014年获得国际易卜生奖。
2019年10月10日,彼得·汉德克获得2019年诺贝尔文学奖。授奖词为:“凭借着具有语言学才能的有影响力的作品,探索了人类体验的外延和特性。”(
"for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience.")