The Speed of Belief –(Excerpt) by Tracy K. Smith
In memoriam,Floyd William Smith 1935–2008
When your own sweet father died
You woke before first light
And ate half a plate of eggs and grits,
And drank a glass of milk.
当你自己亲爱的父亲去世时
你在天亮之前醒来
吃了半碟的鸡蛋和玉米糊,
喝一杯牛奶。
After you’d left,I sat in your place
And finished the toast bits with jam
And the cold eggs, the thick bacon
Flanged in fat, savoring the taste.
在你离开之后,我坐在你的位置
吃完涂果酱的烤面包丁
凉鸡蛋,厚培根
泡在脂肪里,细细品味。
Then I slept, too young to know how narrow
And grave the road before you seemed—
All the houses zipped tight, the night’s
Few clouds muddy as cold coffee.
然后我入睡了,太年幼还意识不到
在你面前的路是多狭窄艰难
所有房屋紧闭,夜晚
几朵云浑浊如冷咖啡
You stayed gone a week, and who were we
Without your clean profile nicking away
At anything that made us afraid?
One neighbor sent a cake. We ate
你去了一星期,我们迷惘了,
没有你的清晰形象阻挡
任何使我们恐惧的东西?
一个邻居送来蛋糕,我们吃了
The baked chickens, the honeyed hams.
We bowed our heads and prayed
You’d come back safe,
Knowing you would.
烤鸡,蜂蜜火腿。
我们低头祈祷
你会平安归来,
确信你会。
林木译
这篇译作得到京燕等朋友的修改指正,特此致谢!
请阅读更多我的博客文章>>>