吉爾伯特: 相逢的痛與樂

我們以為火吞噬木柴。
我們錯了。它找上
烈焰。火舔吻
木柴懷抱的寶，它自己
縱身於那無間的親密，
就這樣，我們和世界
遭遇，每一新的一日。苦與樂
在相逢中。 正如心之所遇
並非心靈，是精神
會合肉身，嘴，邂逅
另一口中的新奇。我們站立
看著我們花園的廢墟
在十一月的暮色中，聽到烏鴉
掠過，當初雪四處冰冷閃耀。悲傷使心
如同突然幸福能作到的那樣明顯。

(微笑 譯)

HARM AND BOON IN THE MEETINGS

by Jack Gilbert

 

We think the fire eats the wood.
We are wrong. The wood reaches out
to the flame. The fire licks at
what the wood harbors, and the wood
gives itself away to that intimacy,
the manner in which we and the world
meet each new day. Harm and boon
in the meetings. As heart meets what
is not heart, the way the spirit
encounters the flesh and the mouth meets
the foreignness in another mouth. We stand
looking at the ruin of our garden
in the early dark of November, hearing crows
go over while the first snow shines coldly
everywhere. Grief makes the heart
apparent as much as sudden happiness can.