I remember, I remember
有一個笑話,蝌蚪們到餐廳里點餐,端上來的是青蛙,頓時,它們開始哭著唱歌。問歌名是?答案揭曉:《不想長大》成長,必定伴隨著不可抗拒的疼痛。也許是同朋友的天各一方,也許是同親人的離鄉背井……但是,請在心底留一方凈土,珍藏那些如夏花絢麗的美好!
詩人Thomas Hood(托馬斯·胡德,1799-1845)出生于英國倫敦,父親是蘇格蘭籍的書商和出版商。胡德14歲時因喪父而中斷學業,在印刷廠當雕版學徒,22 歲時成為雜志社的助理編輯,后來又編過幾種刊物。胡德以寫滑稽詩著稱,最喜歡使用雙關語以產生滑稽效果。他的詩歌多半采用民謠體,詞匯通俗易懂。直到詩人逝世前的最后一年間,他在病重的情況下寫下了代表作《襯衫之歌》、《勞動者之歌》、《嘆息橋》等詩,為受壓迫受凌辱的人們發出心底的呼聲。《襯衫歌》對以針線活維持生計的倫敦女工表示了深切的同情,這首詩開了“社會抗議文學”的先河,被譯成多種文字,不僅在英國和美國,而且在德國和俄國都成為社會抗議詩歌的典范,被許多社會意識很強的詩人所模仿。
I remember, I remember
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon
Nor brought too long a day;
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away.
我記得呀,我記得
我出生的那間屋子,
早晨,陽光從小窗
進來窺視;
他從不早來片刻,
也不多留半晌,
但現在,我常愿黑夜
帶走我的呼吸。
I remember, I remember Violets & A Pensee
The roses, red and white,
The violets, and the lily-cups—
Those flowers made of light!
The lilacs where the robin built,
And where my brother set
The laburnum on his birthday,—
The tree is living yet!
我記得呀,我記得
玫瑰花紅白相映,
還有紫羅蘭和百合——
全是由光織成的花朵!
有知更鳥筑巢的紫丁香,
還有哥哥在他生日那天
種植的金鏈花,——
它依然存活著!
I remember, I remember
Where I used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow.
我記得呀,我記得
我從前常在那兒蕩秋千,
想著拂面的風是如此清爽
風中的飛燕肯定也感覺一樣;
昔日我那自在翱翔的心靈,
如今變得如此沉重,
即使夏日的池塘也無法冷卻
我額頭的熱狂!
I remember, I remember
The fir trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender tops
Were close against the sky:
It was a childish ignorance,
But now ’tis little joy
To know I’m farther off from Heaven
Than when I was a boy.
我記得呀,我記得
蒼郁高聳的冷杉;
我從前常以為它們細長的樹梢
已經逼近天空;
雖然那只是孩子的幼稚無知,
但是現在卻少有那般快樂
我知道兒時離我那么近的天堂
如今已經越來越遠了。