【夜读抄】 第八十六夜·约瑟夫·布罗茨基《黑马》
黑马
黑色的穹窿也比它四脚明亮。
它无法与黑暗溶为一体。
在那个夜晚，我们坐在篝火旁边
一匹黑色的马儿映入眼底。
我不记得比它更黑的物体。
它的四脚黑如乌煤。
它黑得如同夜晚，如同空虚。
周身黑咕隆咚，从鬃到尾。
但它那没有鞍子的脊背上
却是另外一种黑暗。
它纹丝不动地伫立。仿佛沉睡酣酣。
它蹄子上的黑暗令人胆战。
它浑身漆黑，感觉不到身影。
如此漆黑，黑到了顶点。
如此漆黑，仿佛处于针的内部。
如此漆黑，就像子夜的黑暗。
如此漆黑，如同它前方的树木。
恰似肋骨间的凹陷的胸脯。
恰似地窖深处的粮仓。
我想：我们的体内是漆黑一团。
可它仍在我们眼前发黑！
钟表上还只是子夜时分。
它的腹股中笼罩着无底的黑暗。
它一步也没有朝我们靠近。
它的脊背已经辨认不清，
明亮之斑没剩下一毫一丝。
它的双眼白光一闪，像手指一弹。
那瞳孔更是令人畏惧。
它仿佛是某人的底片。
它为何在我们中间停留？
为何不从篝火旁边走开，
驻足直到黎明降临的时候？
为何呼吸着黑色的空气，
把压坏的树枝弄得瑟瑟嗖嗖？
为何从眼中射出黑色的光芒？
它在我们中间寻找骑手。
吴笛 译
Black Horse
The black night sky was brighter than those legs,
And he could not dissolve into the dark.
That evening, as we sat beside our fire,
The jet-black horse first came into our sight.
I can remember nothing that was blacker.
Like coal his legs, and he was black as night
Or emptiness, from mane to tail all black.
But there was yet another kind of blackness
Around his back that never felt a saddle.
He stood unmoving. And he seemed to sleep.
The blackness of his hooves was frightening.
All black he was and did not feel the shadows.
So black that he could not become more dark.
As black as the obscurity of midnight.
As black as it is black inside a needle.
Black as the trees that loomed in front of him.
Like the seed’s hiding place beneath the ground,
The hollow in the breast between the ribs.
I think: inside our bodies we are black.
But yet he stood there black before our eyes!
It was still only midnight on the clock.
He did not come one step nearer to us.
Fathomless darkness reigned within his groin.
His back had already disappeared from sight.
There was no patch of brightness left on it.
His eyes shone whitely like a stinging blow.
The pupil was more terrifying still.
He seemed to be somebody’s negative.
Why had he halted in his onward stride
To stay among us until morning came?
Why did he still remain beside the fire?
Why did he breathe upon us the black air
And rustle like crushed branches under foot?
Why did he pour black light out of his eyes?
He was looking for a rider in our midst.
By Joseph Brodsky
黑色的穹窿也比它四脚明亮。
它无法与黑暗溶为一体。
在那个夜晚，我们坐在篝火旁边
一匹黑色的马儿映入眼底。
我不记得比它更黑的物体。
它的四脚黑如乌煤。
它黑得如同夜晚，如同空虚。
周身黑咕隆咚，从鬃到尾。
但它那没有鞍子的脊背上
却是另外一种黑暗。
它纹丝不动地伫立。仿佛沉睡酣酣。
它蹄子上的黑暗令人胆战。
它浑身漆黑，感觉不到身影。
如此漆黑，黑到了顶点。
如此漆黑，仿佛处于针的内部。
如此漆黑，就像子夜的黑暗。
如此漆黑，如同它前方的树木。
恰似肋骨间的凹陷的胸脯。
恰似地窖深处的粮仓。
我想：我们的体内是漆黑一团。
可它仍在我们眼前发黑！
钟表上还只是子夜时分。
它的腹股中笼罩着无底的黑暗。
它一步也没有朝我们靠近。
它的脊背已经辨认不清，
明亮之斑没剩下一毫一丝。
它的双眼白光一闪，像手指一弹。
那瞳孔更是令人畏惧。
它仿佛是某人的底片。
它为何在我们中间停留？
为何不从篝火旁边走开，
驻足直到黎明降临的时候？
为何呼吸着黑色的空气，
把压坏的树枝弄得瑟瑟嗖嗖？
为何从眼中射出黑色的光芒？
它在我们中间寻找骑手。
 |
八匹马 |
吴笛 译
Black Horse
The black night sky was brighter than those legs,
And he could not dissolve into the dark.
That evening, as we sat beside our fire,
The jet-black horse first came into our sight.
I can remember nothing that was blacker.
Like coal his legs, and he was black as night
Or emptiness, from mane to tail all black.
But there was yet another kind of blackness
Around his back that never felt a saddle.
He stood unmoving. And he seemed to sleep.
The blackness of his hooves was frightening.
All black he was and did not feel the shadows.
So black that he could not become more dark.
As black as the obscurity of midnight.
As black as it is black inside a needle.
Black as the trees that loomed in front of him.
Like the seed’s hiding place beneath the ground,
The hollow in the breast between the ribs.
I think: inside our bodies we are black.
But yet he stood there black before our eyes!
It was still only midnight on the clock.
He did not come one step nearer to us.
Fathomless darkness reigned within his groin.
His back had already disappeared from sight.
There was no patch of brightness left on it.
His eyes shone whitely like a stinging blow.
The pupil was more terrifying still.
He seemed to be somebody’s negative.
Why had he halted in his onward stride
To stay among us until morning came?
Why did he still remain beside the fire?
Why did he breathe upon us the black air
And rustle like crushed branches under foot?
Why did he pour black light out of his eyes?
He was looking for a rider in our midst.
By Joseph Brodsky
