奥登：某晚当我外出散步
威斯坦·休·奥登（Wystan Hugh Auden，1907-1973），英国出生的美国诗人，剧作家，文学评论家，被认为是艾略特以后英美最有影响的诗人。他的诗集，如《死亡之舞》和《双重人》中的诗篇，奠定了他在20世纪文坛上的重要地位。他的诗作《焦虑的时代》使他赢得了1948年的普利策奖。其他作品包括《短诗集》、《阿喀琉斯之盾》、《长诗集》。
某晚当我外出散步
某晚当我外出散步，
在布里斯托尔街头遛弯，
步行道上人群熙攘
恰似那丰收的麦田。
沿着涨潮的河道游走，
在铁路拱桥的下面
我听到恋人正唱着情歌：
“爱没有止境终点。
'我爱你，亲爱的，我将爱你
直到中国和非洲彼此会合
直到河流跃过了高山
而鲑鱼跑到街上唱歌，
'我将永远爱你，直到大海
被收起晾晒，海水也变干涸，
直到那天上的北斗七星
化身为嘎嘎尖叫的鹅。
'岁月会像兔子般逃走，
只因它们常驻我心怀
那古老世纪的花束，
和人世最初的爱。'
然而城里所有的座钟
开始将乐声持续奏响：
“哦，别让时间欺骗你，
你无法征服时光。
“在噩梦的洞穴里
正义全然赤身裸体，
时间躲在阴影里监视
你若接吻就咳嗽示意。
“苦于头痛和焦虑
生命似乎渐趋黯淡。
而时间自有其虚妄
无论明天或今天。
“那极其骇人的雪
飘进了青山翠谷；
时间打乱了弦歌曼舞
和跳水者美妙的弓步。
“哦，把你的手伸进水里，
一直伸到你的腕部，
看着，看着水池子
想想你已丢了什么。
“冰川在碗橱里震响，
荒漠在床头哀叹，
而茶杯的裂缝，开启了
通往死亡之地的航线。
“在那儿乞丐抽奖得了钱，
巨人对杰克着了迷，
纯洁少年是个哮喘病人，
吉尔仰面跌倒在地。
“哦，看哪，看着镜子，
哦，看着你的痛苦烦忧；
生活保留了一点幸运
虽然你无法祈求。
“哦，站着，站在窗前
当热泪已情难自禁；
你该去爱你驼背的邻人
用你那颗扭曲的心。“
天色已晚，夜正深沉，
恋人们已走远；
时钟停止了它们的奏鸣，
而深彻的河水奔涌向前。
1937年11月
（马鸣谦、蔡海燕 译）
*选自《某晚当我外出散步：奥登抒情诗选》，马鸣谦、蔡海燕译，王家新校，上海译文出版社
As I Walked Out One Evening
by W. H. Auden
As I walked out one evening,
Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
Were fields of harvest wheat.
And down by the brimming river
I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
'Love has no ending.
'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
And the salmon sing in the street,
'I'll love you till the ocean
Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
Like geese about the sky.
'The years shall run like rabbits,
For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
And the first love of the world.'
But all the clocks in the city
Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
You cannot conquer Time.
'In the burrows of the Nightmare
Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
And coughs when you would kiss.
'In headaches and in worry
Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
To-morrow or to-day.
'Into many a green valley
Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
And the diver's brilliant bow.
'O plunge your hands in water,
Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
And wonder what you've missed.
'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.
'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
And Jill goes down on her back.
'O look, look in the mirror,
O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
Although you cannot bless.
'O stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
With your crooked heart.'
It was late, late in the evening,
The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
And the deep river ran on.