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唱對臺戲

The Ritual to Read to each other

--葉子 譯

Dear Editors,

I enjoyed very much of Ms. Crystal Tai's writings on your site. We have exchanged correspondence over the years, although we never meet in person. It was inspired by her translations of Chinese classics that I began interested in doing translation myself, although I enjoyed doing translation from English into

Chinese, as a way of re-discoverying the beauty of my mother tongue. I was bron in Shanghai and went to Beijing and studied at Tsinghua Univ 1984 - 1989. Now I reside in Princeton New Jersey since 2000 with myhusband Eric Laird and two sons.

I would be most anxious to know that your site might consider to publish this translation of William Stafford's poem 'The ritual to read to each other'. May I also present two translations of the same Emily Dickinson's short poem 'Dreams are well, waking's better...' It was a spontaneous exchanges, originally

on paper-republic.org ...

https://paper-republic.org/brendanokane/apologia-for-translations/

( I also posted an earlier draft for the final translation below...)

唱對臺戲

The Ritual to Read to each other

如果我對你一竅不通

你對我也一無所知

我倆的世界由他人的篤信而成全

要是我們還跟錯了救世主

閃閃紅星也與你我無緣了。

腦海的得意算盤中多有一絲癮患，

一不小心一不再意珠機全盤斷落。

年少氣盛時的振振有詞，

如洪水破堤一往而不可收拾。

如同馬戲班裡的象群

一個接著另一個沉重的腳步而行

單槍匹馬在戲班中很難找到戲路

我以為這有點慘不忍睹，

亦或是所有悲劇的根源:

只知臺詞而對戲路不聞不問。

於是乎，我向天籟之音祈禱

細聽所有生靈的臆語

雖然我們習慣於裝腔作勢，

在戲班外的人生舞臺，

何需暗中假戲真作？

關鍵是明白之人做明白之事

若以一言以斃之，豈不成全了濫竽充數之流？

所有信誓旦旦的人 是非多寡 務必言從心鏡：

世道的蒼涼 眾生奈其何。

( 葉子 譯 June 2016)

The original English text is here on my blog

http://advogato.org/person/sye/diary/465.html

梦— 是好— 但不如梦醒

若在早上醒

若在半夜醒 — 就不如

梦里 — 等黎明

树 — 之乐于欣欣欧鸲

从来比不上

被那结实 — 壮的曙光

带来的无朝

translator Anna G Chen

梦想，多好；苏醒更好。

一如清晨的醒悟。

要是半夜醒来 - 何不再添

梦想 - 黎明的到来？

更甜的，是不知情的知更鸟

从不为栖息的树吟歌取乐，

更不会因破晓 - 反唇相讥

至始至终。

translator 叶子

Original Text by Emily Dickinson

( from this link:

http://bloggingdickinson.blogspot.com/2013/05/dreams-are-well-but-wakings-better-if.html)

Dreams — are well — but Waking's better,

If One wake at morn —

If One wake at Midnight — better —

Dreaming — of the Dawn —

Sweeter — the Surmising Robins —

Never gladdened Tree —

Than a Solid Dawn — confronting —

Leading to no Day —

Sincerely

Yours

Susan Ye Laird

Laird Unlimited Editorial Services LLP

歡迎各界惠賜各類創作稿件，email：lulijen46@gmail.com

並歡迎轉載，但務請註明出處----編者

【法奶日報www.lulijen.com2016.7.13.出刊，第9-1673號】