“我们爬的山” | 青年诗人Amanda Gorman 在总统拜登的就职典礼上宣读的诗歌
全国首位青年诗人桂冠得主阿曼达·戈尔曼(Amanda Gorman)在今天(1月20日)总统拜登(Joe Biden)的就职典礼上宣读了下面这首诗歌——
诗歌原稿来自CNN
When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We've braved the belly of the beast
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn't always just-ice
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn't broken
but simply unfinished
We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny Black girl
descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
can dream of becoming president
only to find herself reciting for one
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
but that doesn't mean we are
striving to form a union that is perfect
We are striving to forge a union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters and
conditions of man
And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know, to put our future first,
we must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
so we can reach out our arms
to one another
We seek harm to none and harmony for all
Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried
That we'll forever be tied together, victorious
Not because we will never again know defeat
but because we will never again sow division
Scripture tells us to envision
that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid
If we're to live up to our own time
Then victory won't lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we've made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare
It's because being American is more than a pride we inherit,
it's the past we step into
and how we repair it
We've seen a force that would shatter our nation
rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy
And this effort very nearly succeeded
But while democracy can be periodically delayed
it can never be permanently defeated
In this truth
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future
history has its eyes on us
This is the era of just redemption
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves
So while once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?
We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation
Our blunders become their burdens
But one thing is certain:
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children's birthright
So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with
Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
we will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge,
battered and beautiful
When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid
The new dawn blooms as we free it
For there is always light,
if only we're brave enough to see it
If only we're brave enough to be it
下面是渔郎借助了翻译的工具和词典进行的翻译尝试,欢迎指正和讨论。请大家注意的是,原诗中大量出现的单词和单词间两两的头韵给读者带来的对比和冲击,以及朗诵者(诗人本人)的语气、表现、及个人的色彩,都是渔郎远远无法在翻译中完美呈现给大家的。但我在翻译上能花力气的地方、能去钻研的地方都努力尝试了一下,这些点我们可以以后再探讨。好的,翻译如下——
天亮了,我们问自己:
我们在哪里可以在这永无休止的阴影中找到光?
我们承载的失去
我们必须淌过的海。
我们曾勇敢面对野兽之腹。
我们认识到 「安静」并不总意味着着「和平」。
以及那些
定义正义的规范和概念。
并非总是正义的。
然而黎明却是我们的
在我们意识到之前
我们不知怎么地做到了。
不知何故,我们经受了风霜,还目睹了
一个没有破裂的国家
只是未完待续而已。
我们
一个国家和时代的接班人。
在这里,一个瘦得皮包骨的黑人女孩
一个奴隶后裔,由单亲母亲抚养长大
我们可以梦想成为总统
没想到自己却在为一位总统宣读着。
是的,我们还远远不够娴熟
离崭新还远着
但这并不意味着我们
正在努力建立一个「完美的」联邦。
我们正在努力建立一个「有目的」的联邦。
组成致力于所有文化,肤色,个性和
处境的人。
因此,我们将视线从我们「之间」的立场上移走
而关注于摆在我们「面前」的是什么。
我们合上分歧,是因为我们知道,要想把「未来」放在首位,
我们必须首先将分歧抛在一边。
我们放下手臂
这样我们就可以伸出手臂
给彼此。
我们寻求对无人的伤害和为所有人的和谐。
让全球,这就够了,说这是真的:
说即使我们感到悲伤,我们仍在成长。
说即使我们受伤了,我们也怀着希望。
说即使我们累了,我们也努力了。
说我们将永远团结在一起,胜利着。
不是因为我们再也不会知道失败
但是因为我们再也不会播散割裂了。
圣经告诉我们要去设想
要让每个人都应该坐在自己的葡萄树和无花果树下。
要让没有人会令他们害怕。
如果我们要不辜负自己的时间。
那胜利就不会落在刀刃上。
而是我们搭建的所有的桥梁中。
那是对林中空地的承诺。
我们爬的山。
只要我们敢。
因为身为美国人
我们不仅仅是我们所继承的那种自豪,
而是我们踏入的过去
以及我们如何修复。
我们看到了一种力量能够够粉碎我们的国家
而不是分享我们的国家。
它会摧毁我们的国家,
即使以拖延民主的到来为代价 也在所不惜。
这股劲可以说是几乎成功了。
但是,尽管民主可以偶尔推迟
它绝不会被永久击败
本着这个事实
本着这种信念,我们相信。
因为虽然我们的眼睛看着的是未来
历史却在注视着我们。
这是赎回公正的时代。
我们从创立之时就害怕。
我们没有准备好成为它们的后裔
如此可怕的时日的后裔
但在其中我们发现了力量
来撰写新的章节。
来为我们自己提供希望和欢笑。
所以即使我们曾经问过自己
我们怎么可能战胜灾难?
现在我们坚持说
灾难怎么可能战胜我们?
我们不会再回到「过去」的样子
而是行进到「应该」的样子。
一个饱经风霜
却完整的国家
仁慈却大胆
凶猛却自由。
我们不会被调转方向
或被恐吓打断
因为我们知道我们的无为和惯性
将成为我们下一代的遗产。
我们的笨拙会成为他们的负担
但是可以肯定的是:
如果我们把仁慈与威力融合,
威力与正义融合,
爱就成了我们的遗产
并会改变我们孩子们与生俱来的能力。
所以让我们在我们身后留下一个国家
一个比留给我们更好的国家吧。
从我被青铜重压似的胸腔里的每一股呼吸
我们将把这个受伤的世界变成一个奇妙的世界。
我们将从西部的黄金山丘中崛起
我们将从狂风吹拂的东北崛起
我们的祖先第一次实现革命的地方。
我们将从中西部各州湖泊边缘的城市中崛起,
我们将从晒着日光的南方升起。
我们将重建,和解,复苏
和我们国家的每个已知的角落
每个被称之为「我们的国家」的角落
我们的人民将多样 美丽会浮现
被重击了 却美丽着。
当一天到来时,我们走出阴影,
燃烧着 无惧地。
当我们放手给它自由时,新的曙光盛开。
因为总有光
但愿我们有足够的勇气看到它
但愿我们有足够的勇气去成为它。
【完】
渔郎致敬——
老渔郎