弗蘭茲.賴特
如果每看五六個字我就要翻字典，
那有什麽關係。我查找。
反正我無處可去。
我父親不在，我母親
像要即將爆發，
不是開成花朵，每當我說話。
我最愛讀伊利亞特。是的。
我不能準確發音，
但我什麽時候要發音，
給誰？
難道是我的繼父？
首先，他幾乎不會說英語；
其次他完全可能
嘲笑或打我
即使我沒有觸怒他。
孤獨，苦悶和恐懼
我的動機
火上澆油
我跪在地上為他們感謝上帝。
杜甫，讚美詩，惠特曼，裏爾克。
生活已經教會了我。
. （ 林木譯）
Learning To Read — by Franz Wright
If I had tolook up every fifth or sixth word,
so what. I looked them up.
I had nowhere important to be.
My fatherwas unavailable, and my mother
looked like she was about to break,
and not into blossom, every time I spoke.
My favoritewas the Iliad. True,
I had trouble pronouncing the names,
but when was I going to pronounce them, and
but when was I going to pronounce them, and
to whom?
My stepfather maybe?
My stepfather maybe?
Number one, he could barely speak English;
two, he had sufficient intent
to smirk or knock me down
without any prompting from me.
Loneliness, boredom and terror
my motivation
fiercely fuelled.
I get down on my knees and thank God for them.
Du Fu, the Psalms, Whitman, Rilke.
Life has taught me.
