英语现代诗译读：R.S.托马斯的诗《山外》译读
大地的护佑：记得回家的路
——R.S.托马斯的诗《山外》译读
Out of the Hills
Dreams clustering thick on his sallow skull,
Dark as curls, he comes, ambling with his cattle
From the starved pastures. He has shaken from off his shoulders
The weight of the sky, and the lash of the wind's sharpness
Is healing already under the medicinal sun.
Clouds of cattle breath, making the air heady,
Remember the summer's sweetness, the wet road runs
Blue as a river before him; the legendary town
Dreams of his coming; under the half-closed lids
Of the indolent shops sleep dawdles, emptying the last
Tankards of darkness, before the officious light
Bundles it up the chimney out of sight.
The shadow of the mountain dwindles; his scaly eye
Sloughs its cold care and glitters. The day is his
To dabble a finger in, and, merry as crickets,
A chorus of coins sings in his tattered pockets.
Shall we follow him down,witness his swift undoing
In the indifferent streets: the sudden disintegration
Of his soul's hardness, traditional discipline
Of flint and frost thawing in ludicrous showers
Of maudlin laughter; the limpid runnels of speech
sullied and slurred, as the beer-glass chimes the hours?
No, wait for him here. At midnight he will return,
Threading the tunnel that contains the dawn
Of all his fears. Be then his fingerpost
Homeward. The earth is patient; he is not lost.
译诗：
山外
诸多梦想聚集在他泛黄的头颅，
密密匝匝，一如其黑色卷发，
他信步走来，和牛群一起
从贫瘠的草场悠然归牧。
他已卸下如天重负，
厉风抽打的疼痛
也因着暖阳的抚慰正在康复。
成群的牛儿喘息着，振奋了空气，
让他记起夏季的甜蜜，
路湿湿的，如淌着蓝色的河流；
传说中的小镇在梦中把他迎候；
慵懒的店铺眼睑半闭，
睡眠之神四处游走，
它倾尽最后一杯夜色，
不等好事的暮光开始动手
把夜色往遥远而依稀的烟囱上拢束。
山的廓影渐趋虚无，
他鳞片样的眼睛也褪去了冷漠，闪烁。
今天是他的好日子，他要稍稍享受，
这不，从他褴褛的口袋，
传出了硬币如促织一般欢快的唱和。
我们可否尾随他，以看看是哪些缘由
让他迅即堕落在这冷漠的街头：
坚强的灵魂一瞬间分崩离析，
燧石一般硬和严霜一样酷的传统规则
在阵阵无厘头的自怜醉语中化为乌有；
清澈的语言之流被败坏而混浊不清，
犹如敲击啤酒瓶报告现在什么时候？
不，我们就在这等他。
他会穿越接二连三的恐惧，
在半夜回到此处。
他应该有回家的路标。
因着大地的忍耐，他终于没有迷路。
诗意简释：
诗歌的主题经由最后几句话透露出来了：“他会穿越接二连三的恐惧，在半夜回到此处。他应该有回家的路标。因着大地的忍耐，他终于没有迷路。”
其中表达的仍是R.S.托马斯一贯的对于现代人的命运的关怀。其大意是，现代人暂时迷失了自己，但最终还是能找到回家的路。然而，不能忽视的是，这在一定程度上要归功于大地的忍耐。大地代表一种神秘的力量。因之，大地的忍耐既是对人类的悲悯，也是对人类的警告，毕竟忍耐只是忍耐。
2019.8.20.02