弗兰兹.赖特
如果每看五六个字我就要翻字典，
那有什么关系。我查找。
反正我无处可去。
我父亲不在，我母亲
像要即将爆发，
不是开成花朵，每当我说话。
我最爱读伊利亚特。是的。
我不能准确发音，
但我什么时候要发音，
给谁？
难道是我的继父？
首先，他几乎不会说英语；
其次他完全可能
嘲笑或打我
即使我没有触怒他。
孤独，苦闷和恐惧
我的动机
火上浇油
我跪在地上为他们感谢上帝。
杜甫，赞美诗，惠特曼，里尔克。
生活已经教会了我。
. （ 林木译）
Learning To Read — by Franz Wright
If I had tolook up every fifth or sixth word,
so what. I looked them up.
I had nowhere important to be.
My fatherwas unavailable, and my mother
looked like she was about to break,
and not into blossom, every time I spoke.
My favoritewas the Iliad. True,
I had trouble pronouncing the names,
but when was I going to pronounce them, and
but when was I going to pronounce them, and
to whom?
My stepfather maybe?
My stepfather maybe?
Number one, he could barely speak English;
two, he had sufficient intent
to smirk or knock me down
without any prompting from me.
Loneliness, boredom and terror
my motivation
fiercely fuelled.
I get down on my knees and thank God for them.
Du Fu, the Psalms, Whitman, Rilke.
Life has taught me.
