雙語詩歌·上教堂

上教堂

Church Going

拉　金

Philip Larkin

拉金（Philip Larkin，1922-1985），英國上世紀50年代的重要詩人、小說家和評論家。50年代，他與大學同學組成了以抵制浪漫的感傷與浮夸詩風為主要宗旨的“運動詩派”，反對過分運用修辭和比喻，鄙視詩歌中普遍的說教與預言色彩，在當時產生一定影響。他主張詩歌返回現實生活，用冷靜的頭腦，客觀的態(tài)度去查看現實社會和人生。他的詩力求在平緩的情緒中，在閑談式的口吻中準確、簡明、務實、具體地表達出詩的意象，往往隱含令人咀嚼的深意。

有一回，我確信里面沒什么動靜，

Once I am sure there's nothing going on

便走進去，讓大門砰的一聲關嚴實。

I step inside, letting the door thud shut.

又是座教堂：石板，草墊，長凳；

Another church: matting, seats, and stone,

小本《圣經》；凌亂的花束，摘來是

And little books; sprawlings of flowers, cut

為了做禮拜，已蔫了；有銅器等物

For Sunday, brownish now; some brass and stuff

置在圣堂的一端；小風琴挺整齊；

Up at the holy end; the small neat organ;

那緊張的、發(fā)霉的、不可忽視的靜寂，

And a tense, musty, unignorable silence,

天曉得醖釀多久了。沒戴帽，我摘除

Brewed God knows how long. Hatless, I take off

騎車褲腿夾，尷尬地表示敬意。

My cycle-clips in awkward reverence ,

向前走，繞著圣水盂用手摸了摸。

Move forward, run my hand around the font.

站著看上面，那像是新的天花板——

From where I stand, the roof looks almost new—

打掃過？修復的？有人會知道：除了我。

Cleaned, or restored? Someone would know: I don't.

我登上讀經臺，翻閱了少許圣詩篇，

Mounting the lectern, I peruse a few

字大得怕人，唸出了“到此結束”，

Hectoring large-scale verses, and pronounce

聲音比自己原來想發(fā)的大得多。

Here endeth much more loudly than I'd meant.

短促的回聲在竊笑。我回到大門口，

The echoes snigger briefly. Back at the door

簽了名，捐了愛爾蘭六便士硬幣，

I sign the book, donate an Irish sixpence.

回想這地方實在不值得逗留。

Reflect the place was not worth stopping for.

我卻停了步：其實我常常停步，

Yet stop I did: in fact I often do,

每回都像這一次，感到挺困惑，

And always end much at a loss like this,

想知道該尋求什么；也想弄清楚：

Wondering what to look for; wondering, too,

當教堂淪落到全無用處的時刻，

When churches fall completely out of use

該把它轉變成什么，可否長期

What we shall turn them into, if we shall keep

開放幾座大教堂，在上鎖的柜子里

A few cathedrals chronically on show,

展出羊皮紙文件，圣餐盒，銀盤子；

Their parchment, plate and pyx in locked cases,

其馀的教堂就交給風雨和羊蹄？

And let the rest rent-free to rain and sheep.

該不該躲開它，當作不祥之地？

Shall we avoid them as unlucky places?

或許，天黑后，有可疑的婦人進來，

Or, after dark, will dubious women come

叫她的孩子們摸一塊特別的石頭；

To make their children touch a particular stone;

或是采集治癌的藥草；或是在

Pick simples for a cancer; or on some

知情的某晚來觀看死人行走？

Advised night see walking a dead one?

這種或那種力量總會在游戲或

Power of some sort or other will go on

謎語中起作用，這似乎純屬偶然；

In games, in riddles, seemingly at random;

但迷信，正如信仰，必須消滅掉，

But superstition , like belief, must die,

等到不相信也沒了，還剩下什么？

And what remains when disbelief has gone?

野草，荒徑，荊榛，扶垛，蒼昊。

Grass, weedy pavement, brambles , buttress, sky,

一周又一周，形狀越來越難認，

A shape less recognisable each week,

用途越來越不明。我不知道，

A purpose more obscure . I wonder who

最后，到了最后，誰會來探尋

Will be the last, the very last, to seek

教堂的原址？有人來這里敲一敲、

This place for what it was; one of the crew

記一筆，什么是十字架圣壇可知道？

That tap and jot and know what rood-lofts were?

是哪個貪求古物的、廢墟狂戀者？

Some ruin-bibber, randy for antique,

或者是個圣誕迷，打算在這里

Or Christmas-addict, counting on a whiff

找些牧師的服飾、管風琴和沒藥？

Of gown-and-bands and organ-pipes and myrrh ?

或者，這個人能否代表我自己，

Or will he be my representative,

感到煩，不知情，知道鬼魂的沉積

Bored, uninformed, knowing the ghostly silt

已消散，卻還要穿過灌木林市郊

Dispersed, yet tending to this cross of ground

來到這十字形地方，因為長期地

Through suburb scrub because it held unspilt

保持著平穩(wěn)，只能在分離中找到——

So long and equably what since is found

結婚，生育，死亡和對此的沉思——

Only in separation—marriage, and birth,

當初正是為了這些而建造

And death, and thoughts of these—for which was built

這具特殊的外殼的？我心里不明白

This special shell? For, though I've no idea

這個發(fā)霉的大倉庫有什么價值，

What this accoutred frowsty barn is worth,

我倒喜歡在這里靜靜地呆一呆；

It pleases me to stand in silence here;

它是嚴肅的大地上嚴肅的房屋，

A serious house on serious earth it is,

我們被驅使聚在它交融的空氣里，

In whose blent air all our compulsions meet,

被承認，被當作命運而身穿袍服。

Are recognised, and robed as destinies.

這一點永遠絕對不會被廢棄，

And that much never can be obsolete,

因為有的人總會意外地發(fā)現

Since someone will forever be surprising

他自身有一種饑餓，更加嚴肅，

A hunger in himself to be more serious,

他會被吸引到這里來，帶著饑餓；

And gravitating with it to this ground,

他聽說這是個使人變聰明的地點，

Which, he once heard, was proper to grow wise in,

也許只因為四周有許多死者。

If only that so many dead lie round.