The Lake

by Deborah Ager

黛博拉·艾澤(Deborah Ager)，美國青年詩人、評論家，美術碩士，美國詩刊《32首詩》的創始人。她在美國《布盧姆斯貝利評論》、《喬治亞州評論》、《西部季刊》、《新英格蘭評論》等刊物發表評論和詩歌?，F在一家大網絡公司從事網絡搜索引擎設計、維護、服務工作。

The yard half a yard,

half a lake blue as a corpse.

The lake will tell things you long to hear:

get away from here.

Three o"clock. Dry leaves rat-tat like maracas.

Whisky-colored grass

breaks at every step and trees

are slowly realizing they are nude.

How long will you stay?

For the lake asks questions you want to hear, too.

Months have passed since, well,

everything. Since buildings stood

black against sky, rain hissed from sidewalks

and curled around you.

O, how those avenues once seemed menacing!

I know what you miss

sings this lake. Car horns groaning

in rush hour. Sweet coffee. Wind

pounding like hammers. Warmth of a lover.

Crickets humming love songs to the street.

湖

[美]黛博拉·艾澤/ 倪志娟譯

院子里一半是院子

一半是湖，它憂郁得如同一具尸體。

湖將訴說你渴望傾聽的：

逃離這兒吧

三點鐘。落葉發出沙球晃動時的嚓嚓聲。

枯黃的草

在腳下碎裂，而樹

慢慢意識到它們正在褪去衣衫。

你將停駐多久?

湖也問出了你想聽到的問題。

幾個月過去了，一切

照舊。那些建筑物

倚靠著天空而立，人行道上，淅淅瀝瀝的

雨，在你身邊盤旋

哦，這些林蔭道看上去多么陰森!

我知道，你懷念

湖邊的吟唱。汽車喇叭在高峰時段

鳴響。香甜的咖啡。風

像小錘子似的襲來。一個情人的溫暖。

蟋蟀們哼著情歌走在馬路上。