我自己的真正的家族My Own True Family

My Own True Family

我自己的真正的家族

——by Ted Hughes

——屠岸 译

Once I crept in an oakwood — I was looking for a stag .

I met an old woman there — all knobbly stick and rag.

She said: "I have your secret here inside my little bag."

有一次我悄悄进入橡树林——我寻找一头鹿。

我遇见个老太婆——一身疙瘩的枯柴棒加破布。

她说：“你的秘密在我的小口袋里，我全有数。”

Then she began to cackle and I began to quake .

She opened up her little bag and I came twice awake —

Surrounded by a staring tribe and me tied to a stake.

于是，她开始咯咯笑，我开始发抖。

她打开她的小口袋，我一而再地意识到——

一个族群在围着我看，我在木桩上被捆牢。

They said: "We are the oak-trees and your own true family.

We are chopped down, we are torn up, you do not blink an eye.

Unless you make a promise now — now you are going to die.

他们说：“我们是橡树，是你真正的家族成员。

我们被砍倒，被撕裂，你连眼睛也不眨一下 。

你现在就将死去，除非你答应一个条件。

Whenever you see an oak-tree felled, swear now you will plant two.

Unless you swear the black oak bark will wrinkle over you

And root you among the oaks where you were born but never grew."

每见到一株橡树被砍倒，你得发誓栽两株。

你若不发誓，黑色起皱的橡树皮会把你裹住，

让你植根在橡林中，你出生在这儿却永远不发育。”

This was my dream beneath the boughs, the dream that altered me.

When I came out of the oakwood, back to human company,

My walk was the walk of a human child, but my heart was a tree.

这是我在树枝下做的梦，这梦改变了我。

我走出橡树林，回到人间伙伴的居处，

我走路像人类的孩子，我的心却成了一株树。