玛吉·史密斯女爵 | 朗读诗歌《利明顿之死》

Death in Leamington

《利明顿之死》

——by John Betjeman

She died in the upstairs bedroom

她在楼上的卧室死去

By the light of the ev'ning star

当时夜晚明星高悬

That shone through the plate glass window

光亮穿透了玻璃窗

From over Leamington Spa

明星俯瞰利明顿温泉。

Beside her the lonely crochet

孤独的钩针摆在她身侧

Lay patiently and unstirred,

耐心地一动不动，不见有异，

But the fingers that would have work'd it

她的十指本应运作繁忙

Were dead as the spoken word.

如今却像她的言语那样沉寂。

And Nurse came in with the tea-things

护士走进屋里，端着茶具

Breast high 'mid the stands and chairs-

胸脯高挺，身边是一排排桌椅——

But Nurse was alone with her own little soul,

护士有她自己的小小灵魂，

And the things were alone with theirs.

万物也都各有魂灵一缕。

She bolted the big round window,

她插上了圆窗的粗大插销，

She let the blinds unroll,

她将窗帘全都拉上，

She set a match to the mantle,

她在壁炉旁划亮一根火柴，

She covered the fire with coal.

又添了些煤，好让炉火烧旺。

And "Tea!" she said in a tiny voice

“茶来了！”她轻声说道，

"Wake up! It's nearly five"

“醒醒！已经快五点了。”

Oh! Chintzy, chintzy cheeriness,

哦！多么俗气的快活，

Half dead and half alive.

一半已死，另一半还活着。

Do you know that the stucco is peeling?

你可知墙皮正在脱落？

Do you know that the heart will stop?

你可知心脏终将停跳？

From those yellow Italianate arches

你可听见石膏正在逐渐剥离，

Do you hear the plaster drop?

从黄色的意式拱门往下掉？

Nurse looked at the silent bedstead,

护士看着寂静的床头，

At the gray, decaying face,

灰白的面孔正在朽坏，

As the calm of a Leamington ev'ning

利明顿夜晚的安宁

Drifted into the place.

正在将这里悄然覆盖。

She moved the table of bottles

她将摆满药瓶的桌子

Away from the bed to the wall;

从床边推到靠近墙壁；

And tiptoeing gently over thestairs

然后踮着脚走下台阶

Turned down the gas in the hall.

关上了大厅里的煤气。

译者不详