丹·史蒂文斯 | 朗读诗歌《哦，请告诉我爱情的真谛吧》

O Tell Me The Truth About Love

——By W. H. Auden

Some say love’s a little boy,

有人说爱是个小男孩，

And some say it’s a bird,

也有人说爱是只小鸟。

Some say it makes the world go around,

有人说爱会转动地球，

Some say that’s absurd,

有人却说这是荒唐无聊。

And when I asked the man next-door,

可是当我请教邻居的时候，

Who looked as if he knew,

他似乎已经知晓；

His wife got very cross indeed,

但他太太却勃然大怒，

And said it wouldn’t do.

说他什么都不知道。

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,

它像一套睡衣，

Or the ham in a temperance hotel?

还是像禁酒旅馆里的火腿？

Does its odour remind one of llamas,

它闻起来是否会让人想起驼绒，

Or has it a comforting smell?

还是会有一种使人舒服的香气？

Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,

碰到它的感觉像是接触树篱般刺痛，

Or soft as eiderdown fluff?

还是像摸到鹅绒那么松软无比？

Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?

它的边缘是光滑还是尖利，

O tell me the truth about love.

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

Our history books refer to it

我们的史书对此有所涉及，

In cryptic little notes,

但小注遮掩神秘，

It’s quite a common topic on

它是横越大西洋的舟楫上

The Transatlantic boats;

一个极普通的话题；

I’ve found the subject mentioned in

在很多自杀事件的描述里

Accounts of suicides,

都提到了爱情的问题，

And even seen it scribbled on

甚至还在许多列车时刻表的背面

The backs of railway guides.

见过与爱情有关的涂画。

Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,

它听上去是像阿尔萨斯饿狼的嚎叫，

Or boom like a military band?

还是像军乐对那样铿锵雄壮？

Could one give a first-rate imitation

在弓毛或者史坦威大钢琴上

On a saw or a Steinway Grand?

谁能做一流的模仿？

Is its singing at parties a riot?

派对上它一亮歌喉就彩声四起？

Does it only like Classical stuff?

唯有经典乐曲它才喜欢？

Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?

人欲安静它是否会会停息？

O tell me the truth about love.

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

I looked inside the summer-house;

我到避暑山庄里去寻找，

It wasn’t over there;

可它并不在那里。

I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,

我找了美登海德的泰晤士河，

And Brighton’s bracing air.

也试了布里顿令人振奋的空气。

I don’t know what the blackbird sang,

我听不懂黑色小鸟的歌唱，

Or what the tulip said;

也不知道玫瑰在说什么东西。

But it wasn’t in the chicken-run,

可是它既不在养鸡场里，

Or underneath the bed.

更不在我的床底。

Can it pull extraordinary faces?

它会做出独特的鬼脸，

Is it usually sick on a swing?

还是一上秋千就晕得昏天黑地？

Does it spend all its time at the races,

它整天沉迷于赛马，

or fiddling with pieces of string?

还是在琴弦上演奏多来米？

Has it views of its own about money?

它对金钱有没有自己的看法，

Does it think Patriotism enough?

还是肯用足够时间去考虑爱国主义？

Are its stories vulgar but funny?

它的故事有趣好笑还是无聊低级，

O tell me the truth about love.

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。

When it comes, will it come without warning

当它来到的时候是否毫无预兆，

Just as I’m picking my nose?

就像我想挖挖鼻子？

Will it knock on my door in the morning,

它会不会在早上敲我的前门，

Or tread in the bus on my toes?

还是会在公共汽车上踩痛我的脚趾？

Will it come like a change in the weather?

它会不会像天气变化那么来得出奇不意？

Will its greeting be courteous or rough?

它的祝贺是虚情假意还是礼貌客气？

Will it alter my life altogether?

它会不会根本上改变我的生活？

O tell me the truth about love.

喔，请告诉我究竟什么才是爱的真谛。