感性的5首英伦诗：Poems of Spike Milligan

本期嘉宾Anthony Janssens是英语语言教学中心（Center for English Language Education, CELE）的教师。但他更喜欢大家叫他的中间名（second name）Sami。初见Sami会觉得他是个“花枝招展”、热情洋溢的帅爷爷，但你经常来图书馆的话就会看到他在一楼的Maker Space做衣服（音频里Sami叫那个房间Lego Room），而他每天穿的那一套套衣服正是他自己一针一线缝出来的，“我特别喜欢中国的丝绸和上面的纹样，亲爱的，这简直是艺术品！”。当然除了动手DIY，你还会发现他经常耐心开导满脸疑惑的学生。毕业生看到大一教过他们的Sami也会特激动地围着他一起合影。节目中，Sami为我们带来五首Spike Milligan的短诗朗读的他又将为你展示他不外显的那一面。

Jumbo Jet

I saw a little elephant standing in my garden,

I said 'You don't belong in here', he said 'I beg your pardon?',

I said 'This place is England, what are youdoing here?',

He said 'Ah, then I must be lost' and then 'Oh dear, oh dear'.

 

'I should be back in Africa, on Saranghetti's Plain',

'Pray, where is the nearest station where I can catch a train?'.

He caught the bus to Finchley and then to Mincing lane,

And over the Embankment, where he got lost, again.

 

The police they put him in a cell, but it was far too small,

So they tied him to a lampost and he slept against the wall.

But as the policemen lay sleeping by the twinkling light of dawn,

The lampost and the wall were there, but the elephant was gone!

 

So if you see an elephant, in a Jumbo Jet,

You can be sure that Africa's the place he's trying to get!

Me

Born screaming small into this world-

Living I am.

Occupational therapy twixt birth and death-

What was I before?

What will I be next?

What am I now?

Cruel answer carried in the jesting mind

of a careless God

I will not bend and grovel

When I die. If He says my sins are myriad

I will ask why He made me so imperfect

And he will say 'My chisels were blunt'

I will say 'Then why did you make so

many of me'.

Mirror, Mirror

A young spring-tender girl

combed her joyous hair

'You are very ugly' said the mirror.

But,

on her lips hung

a smile of dove-secret loveliness,

for only that morning had not

the blind boy said,

 

'You are beautiful'?

The Dog Lovers

So they bought you

And kept you in a

Very good home

Central heating

TV

A deep freeze

A very good home-

No one to take you

For that lovely long run-

But otherwise

'A very good home'

They fed you Pal and Chun

But not that lovely long run,

Until, mad with energy and boredom

You escaped- and ran and ran and ran

Under a car.

Today they will cry for you-

Tomorrow they will but another dog.

VALUES ‘67

Pass by citizen

don't look left or right

Keep those drip dry eyes straight ahead

A tree? Chop it down- it's a danger

to lightning!

Pansies calling for water,

Let 'em die- queer bastards-

Seek comfort in the scarlet, labour

saving plastic rose

Fresh with the fragrance of Daz!

Sunday! Pray citizen;

Pray no rain will fall

On your newly polished

Four wheeled

God

Envoi

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Get it out with Optrex

Copyright © Spike Milligan

诗人Spike Milligan（斯派克•米利甘，1918.4.16-2002.2.27）是出生于印度的英国-爱尔兰人，他还是喜剧演员、作家、剧作家和电影演员。参加过二战，写下回忆录Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall被改编为喜剧电影，中文译名《春柳满营》。战后他重返爵士乐界，与霍尔三重奏和其他音乐喜剧表演一起生活，虽然生活岌岌可危，他还是无法放弃对写作和表演的热爱，更是努力进入广播世界，成为一个表演者或脚本作家。1951年英国BBC广播电台开始播放由他主创、演绎的电台戏剧节目The Goon Show，该节目一经推出更是连播9年，由此开启了他多彩的事业与人生。

现在与我们一起聆听这位历经世事老人写下的文字吧。

以上就是本期节目亮点，更多有趣的幕后故事请移步“宁波诺丁汉大学图书馆(UNNC_Library)”公众号。