瑪麗的詩：一隻死狐狸

即使我知道瑪麗·奧利佛在美國很火，即使我也是因為她的一句詩而決定讀她的作品，但也不是每首是都有感覺的，甚至常常還要迫使自己耐下心堅持。但是當我讀完這首，心裏的某一個小窗突然被她打開了，我的目光被引向了一個我從未涉及的角度：一個流動，循環，相互融進，生生不息的世界；你怎麽就知道你的前生後世不是一隻狐狸呢？從這一刻起，瑪麗的詩不再隻是文字，韻律，意境，是什麽？我一直在想。

 

一隻死狐狸

在碎石路邊

發現了一隻死狐狸。

屈倦在一個

丟棄多年的拖拉機輪子裏，

藤曼覆蓋了路邊。

 

不知道

它來到這裏的時候

到底發生了什麽，

或者說為什麽

它就這樣永遠地躺在了這裏？

 

它消瘦的臉頰

靠在輪子生鏽的邊緣上。

眼望著田野的方向，

就那樣死了。

 

但是我知道，

這一姿勢

是它在最後時刻，

對世界的回望。

於是我想唱點什麽，

關於狐狸的快樂而溫柔的歌。

 

可是，這樣的事發生了。

 

當我鑽過金銀花的藤曼，

當我躬起身

躺進那個冰冷的車輪裏

當我碰到狐狸冰冷的身體，

我抬眼朝廣闊的田野望去，

這隻狐狸不見了！

 

隻剩下了我自己和這個世界，

是我，我是那個離開者。

 

那我還能唱什麽？

哦，這美麗的世界！

 

我就這樣躺在那，

看著這一切。

天漸漸暗了下來，

那一天就這樣過去了。

 

星星如期而至，

舉著它們各自的火把，

哦，這些熾熱，堅強的守夜人。

 

I Found a Dead Fox

I found a dead fox

beside the gravel road,

curled inside the big

iron wheel

of an old tractor

that has been standing,

for years,

in the vines at the edge

of the road.

I don't know

what happened to it -

when it came there

or why it lay down

for good, settling

its narrow chin

on the rusted rim

of the iron wheel

to look out

over the fields,

and that way died -

but I know

this: its posture -

of looking,

to the last possible moment,

back into the world -

made me want

to sing something

joyous and tender

about foxes.

But what happened is this -

when I began,

when I crawled in

through the honeysuckle

and lay down

curling my long spine

inside that cold wheel,

and touched the dead fox,

and looked out

into the wide fields,

the fox

vanished.

There was only myself

and the world,

and it was I

who was leaving.

And what could I sing

then?

Oh, beautiful world!

I just lay there

and looked at it.

And then it grew dark.

That day was done with.

And then the stars stepped forth

and held up their appointed

fires -

those hot, hard

watchmen of the night.