O Tell Me The Truth About Love
《噢，請告訴我什么是愛情的真諦》
——By W. H. Auden
Some say love’s a little boy,
有人說愛是個小男孩，
And some say it’s a bird,
也有人說愛是只小鳥。
Some say it makes the world go around,
有人說愛會轉動地球，
Some say that’s absurd,
有人卻說這是荒唐無聊。
And when I asked the man next-door,
可是當我請教鄰居的時候，
Who looked as if he knew,
他似乎已經知曉；
His wife got very cross indeed,
但他太太卻勃然大怒，
And said it wouldn’t do.
說他什么都不知道。
Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
它像一套睡衣，
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
還是像禁酒旅館里的火腿？
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
它聞起來是否會讓人想起駝絨，
Or has it a comforting smell?
還是會有一種使人舒服的香氣？
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
碰到它的感覺像是接觸樹籬般刺痛，
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
還是像摸到鵝絨那么松軟無比？
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
它的邊緣是光滑還是尖利，
O tell me the truth about love.
噢，請告訴我究竟什么才是愛的真諦。
Our history books refer to it
我們的史書對此有所涉及，
In cryptic little notes,
但小注遮掩神秘，
It’s quite a common topic on
它是橫越大西洋的舟楫上
The Transatlantic boats;
一個極普通的話題；
I’ve found the subject mentioned in
在很多自殺事件的描述里
Accounts of suicides,
都提到了愛情的問題，
And even seen it scribbled on
甚至還在許多列車時刻表的背面
The backs of railway guides.
見過與愛情有關的涂畫。
Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
它聽上去是像阿爾薩斯餓狼的嚎叫，
Or boom like a military band?
還是像軍樂對那樣鏗鏘雄壯？
Could one give a first-rate imitation
在弓毛或者史坦威大鋼琴上
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
誰能做一流的模仿？
Is its singing at parties a riot?
派對上它一亮歌喉就彩聲四起？
Does it only like Classical stuff?
唯有經典樂曲它才喜歡？
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
人欲安靜它是否會會停息？
O tell me the truth about love.
噢，請告訴我究竟什么才是愛的真諦。
I looked inside the summer-house;
我到避暑山莊里去尋找，
It wasn’t over there;
可它并不在那里。
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
我找了美登海德的泰晤士河，
And Brighton’s bracing air.
也試了布里頓令人振奮的空氣。
I don’t know what the blackbird sang,
我聽不懂黑色小鳥的歌唱，
Or what the tulip said;
也不知道玫瑰在說什么東西。
But it wasn’t in the chicken-run,
可是它既不在養雞場里，
Or underneath the bed.
更不在我的床底。
Can it pull extraordinary faces?
它會做出獨特的鬼臉，
Is it usually sick on a swing?
還是一上秋千就暈得昏天黑地？
Does it spend all its time at the races,
它整天沉迷于賽馬，
Or fiddling with pieces of string?
還是在琴弦上演奏哆來咪？
Has it views of its own about money?
它對金錢有沒有自己的看法，
Does it think Patriotism enough?
還是肯用足夠時間去考慮愛國主義？
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
它的故事有趣好笑還是無聊低級，
O tell me the truth about love.
噢，請告訴我究竟什么才是愛的真諦。
When it comes, will it come without warning
當它來到的時候是否毫無預兆，
Just as I’m picking my nose?
就像我想挖挖鼻子？
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
它會不會在早上敲我的前門，
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
還是會在公共汽車上踩痛我的腳趾？
Will it come like a change in the weather?
它會不會像天氣變化那么來得出其不意？
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
它的祝賀是虛情假意還是禮貌客氣？
Will it alter my life altogether?
它會不會根本上改變我的生活？
O tell me the truth about love.
噢，請告訴我究竟什么才是愛的真諦。
徐家禎 譯
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