李立揚 (美) 朱峯 譯
她開始唱,我的外婆也跟著唱
母女倆唱起歌來像年輕的姑娘
要是父親還在,他會拉起
他的手風琴,搖擺得像隻船
我從未去過北平,沒到過頤和園
也從未站在大石舫上觀看
昆明湖上下起了雨,野餐的人
正從草地上跑開
可我喜歡動聽的雨聲
荷葉上怎樣注滿了水直到
翻覆,把雨水倒進湖裏
然後彈回來,注更多的水
兩個女人開始啜泣
卻都沒有停止歌唱
注:詩人李立扬為袁世凱的曾外孫,1957年生於印尼,7歲時随父母移居美国,其诗集曾获美国国家图书奖等多個獎項。
I Ask My Mother To Sing
She begins, and my grandmother joins her.
Mother and daughter sing like young girls.
If my father were alive, he would play
his accordion and sway like a boat.
I've never been in Peking, or the Summer Palace,
nor stood on the great Stone Boat to watch
the rain begin on Kuen Ming Lake, the picnickers running away in the grass.
But I love to hear it sung;
how the waterlilies fill with rain until
they overturn, spilling water into water,
then rock back, and fill with more,
Both women have begun to cry.
But neither stops her song.
by Li-Young Lee |