鄰里
【美】詹姆斯·泰特 陳子弘 譯
他們會(huì)生孩子么？會(huì)再生更多么？
他們對(duì)狗咋看？大的、小的？
拴著的還是放養(yǎng)的？老婆比老公聰明些？
她比他要大點(diǎn)哇？這會(huì)引發(fā)問(wèn)題嗎？
他會(huì)升職哇？若沒(méi)有，會(huì)不會(huì)婚姻有壓力？
他家人認(rèn)不認(rèn)可她？倒過(guò)來(lái)又如何？他們
又是怎么處理婆媳關(guān)系的？會(huì)不會(huì)已經(jīng)
不和了？如果她要回去工作，他會(huì)自己
做飯吃么？ 他剪草坪又清理雨水管，
總是這樣沒(méi)完沒(méi)了，其實(shí)并不是弄院子，
而是不想面對(duì)那些煩人的問(wèn)題吧？他們
還會(huì)做愛(ài)嗎？還可以彼此滿足么？他還想
要更多嗎？她喃？他們會(huì)談自己的問(wèn)題么？
最私密的幻想中，他們各自又想改變生活的
什么？他們對(duì)我們，作為鄰居，作為人又如何
看？他們對(duì)我們確實(shí)客氣，路邊信箱偶遇時(shí)
禮貌得讓人惱火——但接著，就像相反的磁極，
猛然回退，返回各自根系的深處，黑暗與貪欲
掐死一切生機(jī)，以平復(fù)我們的渴念，滋養(yǎng)
我們無(wú)力擺脫的孤寂生活。我們愛(ài)我們的社區(qū)
因?yàn)榻o了我們這寶貴的機(jī)遇，我們也愛(ài)我們的狗，
我們的孩子，我們的丈夫和妻子。只是這一切，
太他媽難了！
詩(shī)人簡(jiǎn)介：詹姆斯·泰特（James Tate，1943-2015），美國(guó)詩(shī)人，以超現(xiàn)實(shí)主義、黑色幽默和對(duì)日常生活的獨(dú)特洞察著稱。他出生于密蘇里州堪薩斯城，1967年以詩(shī)集《Lost Pilot》獲耶魯青年詩(shī)人獎(jiǎng)。泰特的詩(shī)歌融合了荒誕、諷刺與深刻的情感，擅長(zhǎng)從平凡場(chǎng)景中挖掘存在主義的哲思，題材涵蓋孤獨(dú)、愛(ài)情與社會(huì)疏離。他多次獲得普利策獎(jiǎng)、國(guó)家圖書獎(jiǎng)等殊榮。他長(zhǎng)期在馬薩諸塞大學(xué)阿默斯特分校任教，影響了眾多年輕詩(shī)人。泰特的風(fēng)格以口語(yǔ)化語(yǔ)言、跳躍的意象和出人意料的轉(zhuǎn)折為特色，常通過(guò)幽默掩蓋深刻的悲傷，被譽(yù)為美國(guó)后現(xiàn)代詩(shī)歌的代表人物之一。
JAMES TATE
Neighbors
Will they have children? Will they have more children?
Exactly what is their position on dogs? Large or small?
Chained or running free? Is the wife smarter than the man?
Is she older? Will this cause problems down the line?
Will he be promoted? If not, will this cause marital stress?
Does his family approve of her, and vice versa? How do
they handle the whole in-law situation? Is it causing some
discord already? If she goes back to work, can he fix
his own dinner? Is his endless working about the yard
and puttering with rain gutters really just a pretext
for avoiding the problems inside the house? Do they still
have sex? Do they satisfy one another? Would he like to
have more, would she? Can they talk about their problems?
In their most private fantasies, how would each of them
change their lives? And what do they think of us, as neighbors,
as people? They are certainly cordial to us, painfully
polite when we chance-encounter one another at the roadside
mailboxes—but then, like opposite magnets, we lunge backward,
back into our own deep root systems, darkness and lust
strangling any living thing to quench our thirst and nourish
our helplessly solitary lives. And we love our neighborhood
for giving us this precious opportunity, and we love our dogs,
our children, our husbands and wives. It's just all so damned
difficult!
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? from Sonora Review
