試譯 Praise Song for the Day

Praise Song for the Day
by Elizabeth Alexander
（A Poem for Barack Obama\'s Presidential Inauguration）

光明行
－伊麗莎白 亞曆山大
（為奧巴馬的總統就職典禮而作）



Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other\'s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

每一天我們忙於生計
有意或無意中從彼此的視野中走過
敘述或丟下一串串故事

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

噪聲淹沒了一切
隻留下荊棘，尖刺和喧鬧
以及流淌在心中的每一個前輩的坎坷

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

生活就是不停地縫補衣服
或者修複破損的輪胎
還有一大堆等在那裏需要修理的雜物

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

美麗的樂聲時常響起
有來自油鼓上的一對木製湯匙的舞蹈
也有大提琴，八音盒，口琴甚至口技的低吟淺唱

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

女人帶著兒子在等公共汽車
農民在張望那不斷變化的天空
而教師卻在說，拿出你的鉛筆，開始吧

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

不期而遇的聲音從四麵八方襲來
無論是善意的還是刺耳的，無論是嘟囔或大聲嚷嚷
都從我們心中潺潺而過

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what\'s on the other side.

土路和高速公路邊標誌的背後
寫滿了這些人，或者那些人的意願
我們應該去看看，另外一邊有什麽別樣的風景

I know there\'s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

前麵的路上總會有更好的東西在等待
朝著所選的方向堅定不移地走下去，無論還有多遠
直到有一個安全的地方來安頓我們疲憊的身心

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

多少人沒有等到這一天
讓我們吟唱那些逝者的名字
是他們為我們鋪設了火車軌道，又架起一座座橋梁

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

是他們為我們采摘棉花，種植蔬菜
是他們用一磚一瓦建起這個輝煌的社會
並為保持這個輝煌的社會而繼續不懈地工作

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

讚美勞動，讚美今天
讚美我們親手打造的每一個驚天動地的事跡
也讚美每天柴米油鹽帶來的歡樂

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

如果不能愛鄰居就像愛自己
至少可以不去傷害別人，也不貪圖無厭
當愛成為我們心中最美麗的字眼時 美好就在眼前
Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

博愛充滿了無邊的光芒
它將覆蓋愛情，親情和民族之情
甚至可以愛得無怨無悔

In today\'s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

火花在冬季的空氣裏劇烈的跳躍
點燃任何可以燃燒的激情
在天之涯，海之畔，或者山之巔

praise song for walking forward in that light.
讓我們一起歌唱
並肩走在這片光明的世界裏


譯者：　林曦

１、２4、２９