奧登：《凱伯雷歌曲》: 第二首: 卡利普索

《凱伯雷歌曲》

第二首

卡利普索

Calypso

By W. H. Auden (1907-1973)

作者:W. H. 奧登

徐家禎翻譯

Driver, drive faster and make a good run

Down the Springfield Line under the shining sun.

 

Fly like an aeroplane, don’t pull up short

Till you brake for Grand Central Station, New York.

 

For there in the middle of the waiting-hall

Should be standing the one that I love best of all.

 

If he’s not there to meet me when I get to town

I’ll stand on the pavement with tears rolling down.

 

For he is the one that I love to look on,

The acme of kindness and perfection.

 

He presses my hand and he says he loves me,

Which I find an admirable peculiarity.

 

The woods are bright green on both sides of the line,

The trees have their loves though they’re different from mine.

 

But the poor fat old banker in the sun-parlour car

Has no one to love him except his cigar.

 

If I were the Head of the Church or the State,

I’d powder my nose and just tell them to wait.

 

For love’s more important and powerful than

Even a priest or a politician.

 

司機呀，快點開， 開得再快點！

就沿著陽光普照的斯博林費爾德路線。

 

開得像飛機那麽電掣風馳，

筆直駛到紐約中央車站才停止。

 

因為車站候車室裏應該有個人站在中間，

世界上所有人都無法超過我對他的愛戀。

 

要是我到城裏時他不等在那邊，

那麽我就會站在路旁淚流如線。

 

因為那就是我看中的郎君，

簡直十全十美，卓越超群。

 

當他握著我手，說他愛我的那一刻，

簡直讓我感到了他令人敬佩的特色。

 

道路兩邊的樹木綠得閃閃發亮，

樹木也有愛人雖與我的並不一樣。

 

可是坐在敞篷車中可憐的胖銀行家，

卻沒有人會愛他除了他的雪茄。

 

要是我當上了教堂或者國家的頭頭，

那麽我定會梳妝打扮，讓他們全在一邊等候。

 

因為即使長老或者官僚，

也不會比愛情更為強大重要！

 

                                 二0一四年七月二十八日譯於

                                 澳大利亞刻來佛寺新紅葉山莊

 

譯注: “卡裏普索”:源自非洲，後來流行於加勒比海的一種樂曲。