雙語·《西爾維婭·普拉斯詩集》 偵探

The Detective
偵探

What was she doing when it blew in
她在做什么？當風吹過

Over the seven hills, the red furrow, the blue mountain?
七座丘陵，紅色犁溝，青色山脈？

Was she arranging cups? It is important.
她在準備杯子嗎？這很重要。

Was she at the window, listening?
她在窗戶邊，傾聽？

In that valley the train shrieks echo like souls on hooks.
山谷里回蕩著火車的尖嘯，仿佛魂被鉤住。

That is the valley of death, though the cows thrive.
那是死亡山谷，只有牛群生機勃勃。

In her garden the lies were shaking out their moist silks
她的花園里，謊言抖平潮濕的真絲

And the eyes of the killer moving sluglike and sidelong,
那個殺手的眼睛像鼻涕蟲似的斜視，

Unable to face the fingers, those egotists.
無法面對那些手指，自私自利者。

The fingers were tamping a woman into a wall,
那些手指將一個女子塞進一堵墻，

A body into pipe, and the smoke rising.
將身體填進管道，然后煙霧升起。

This is the smell of years burning, here in the kitchen,
多年烹飪的味道，這是在廚房里，

These are the deceits, tacked up like family photographs,
還有謊言，猶如家庭照片被收藏，

And this is a man, look at his smile,
就是這個男人，瞧他的微笑，

The death weapon? No one is dead.
死亡武器？沒人死亡。

There is no body in the house at all.
那房子里根本沒有尸體。

There is the smell of polish, there are plush carpets.
那兒只有豪華地毯，精美的味道。

There is the sunlight, playing its blades,
那兒陽光閃爍，鋒利如刀片，

Bored hoodlum in a red room
紅色房間里厭倦的惡棍

Where the wireless talks to itself like an elderly relative.
收音機好像上了年紀的親戚自言自語。

Did it come like an arrow, did it come like a knife?
它來時像箭，它來時像刀？

Which of the poisons is it?
它是哪種毒？

Which of the nerve-curlers, the convulsors? Did it electrify?
哪個神經(jīng)曲卷器，抽搐器？它帶電嗎？

This is a case without a body.
這是一個沒有尸體的案子。

The body does not come into it at all.
尸體根本沒有出現(xiàn)在這個案子里。

It is a case of vaporization.
這案子蒸發(fā)得毫無痕跡。

The mouth first, its absence reported
首先是嘴，它不存在

In the second year. It had been insatiable
第二年才有報道。它曾經(jīng)貪得無厭

And in punishment was hung out like brown fruit
而為了懲罰它，像不新鮮的水果

To wrinkle and dry.
它被掛起、風干。

The breasts next.
接著是雙乳。

These were harder, two white stones.
已經(jīng)變硬，兩塊白色石頭。

The milk came yellow, then blue and sweet as water.
乳汁變黃，然后變藍，甜如水。

There was no absence of lips, there were two children,
不缺少嘴巴，還有兩個孩子，

But their bones showed, and the moon smiled.
但他們骨瘦如柴，月亮卻微笑了。

Then the dry wood, the gates.
然后是干枯的樹木，幾重大門，

The brown motherly furrows, the whole estate.
棕色、慈母般的犁溝，所有財產(chǎn)。

We walk on air, Watson.
我們得意揚揚，華生。

There is only the moon, embalmed in phosphorus.
只有月亮發(fā)出磷光，涂抹防腐香膏。

There is only a crow in a tree. Make notes.
只有樹上的一只烏鴉。做筆記吧。

(1962/10/01. pp.208—209. No.174)
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