德里克 · 沃爾科特〈昏暗的八月〉2022.6.8

德里克 · 沃爾科特〈昏暗的八月〉　　　2022.6.8，試譯

如此驟雨，如此生命，昏暗的八月如此
浮腫的天空。我的姊妹，太陽，鬱鬱憂思
躲藏金黃臥室裡，她遲遲——不肯出來。

一切都往下沉，沉入冥府；山嶽像水壺滾沸
白煙蒸騰而上，河水暴漲；可是，
她還是不肯起身，把雨水關上。

躲在臥房裡，她愛撫著舊物那是
我的詩歌，翻看她自己的相冊。即使
悶雷如瓷盤碎裂於天空，她依舊

不肯出來。難道妳不明白
我愛妳，但無力修復這場雨？
漸漸我已學會，如何去愛

愛這陰暗的日子，這霧靄的群山，
空氣中仍有喋喋不休的蚊蚋、
如何啜飲這方，苦澀的藥帖，

所以，當你現身時，我的姊妹，
你以花卉的前額，與寬容的眼眸，
撥開使雨的珠簾，稍往兩側分流，

這一切都會，有別於過往，
且終將成真（妳知道，他們不會默許妳
暗自祈願的愛），因為，我的姊妹，那時

我將學會愛陰暗的日子如同愛上光明，
愛黑的暴雨，白色的群山，無論何時
我只愛我的幸福與妳。


註：參考自奚密、曹馭博的譯本。



Derek Walcott〈Dark August〉

So much rain, so much life like the swollen sky
of this black August. My sister, the sun,
broods in her yellow room and won't come out.

Everything goes to hell; the mountains fume
like a kettle, rivers overrun; still,
she will not rise and turn off the rain.

She is in her room, fondling old things,
my poems, turning her album. Even if thunder falls
like a crash of plates from the sky,

she does not come out.
Don't you know I love you but am hopeless
at fixing the rain ? But I am learning slowly

to love the dark days, the steaming hills,
the air with gossiping mosquitoes,
and to sip the medicine of bitterness,

so that when you emerge, my sister,
parting the beads of the rain,
with your forehead of flowers and eyes of forgiveness,

all with not be as it was, but it will be true
(you see they will not let me love
as I want), because, my sister, then

I would have learnt to love black days like bright ones,
The black rain, the white hills, when once
I loved only my happiness and you.