伊莉莎白．碧許 : 沙鷸

Laura Knight 畫作

Sandpiper / Elizabeth Bishop

沙鷸 / 伊莉莎白．碧許

The roaring alongside he takes for granted,

and that every so often the world is bound to shake.

He runs, he runs to the south, finical, awkward,

in a state of controlled panic, a student of Blake.

一旁的浪吼聲，於他稀鬆平常，

反正這世界總是時不時的震盪。

他跑著，跑向南方，無視大局，笨拙失措，

一種收斂了的慌張，布萊克的門生。

The beach hisses like fat, On his left, a sheet

of interrupting water comes and goes

and glazes over his dark and brittle feet.

He runs, he runs straight through it, watching his toes.

海灘如油脂嘶響。一張

打閒岔的水面於左側來了又走，

在他黝暗脆弱的腳上蓋釉。

他跑著，一路跑過水面，駐足凝視腳趾。

-- Watching, rather, the spaces of sand between them,

where (no detail too small) the Atlantic drains

rapidly backwards and downwards. As he runs,

he stares at the dragging grains.

– 凝視，其實是凝視腳趾之間的沙子，

在那裡(再小的細節都不嫌小)，大西洋

倉促的往後、往下拖曳。他跑著，

凝視那逸走的沙粒。

The world is a mist. And then the world is

minute and vast and clear. The tide

is higher or lower. He couldn't tell you which.

His beak is focused; he is preoccupied,

世界是一座霧。之後，世界

是微渺，是廣袤，是清晰。浪潮

或高或低，他無法分清。

他的嘴喙瞄準，他正專心

looking for something, something, something.

Poor bird, he is obsessed!

The millions of grains are black, white, tan, and gray,

mixed with quartz grains, rose and amethyst.

尋找著某種，某種，某種東西。

可憐的鳥，這蠱惑了他的心！

數百萬的沙粒，黝黑、乳白、黃褐、鐵灰，

混雜著石英、玫瑰紅和紫色水晶。

(Mary May 譯）

照片取自網路