The Rabbit Catcher
捕兔陷阱

It was a place of force—
这是武力之地——

The wind gagging my mouth with my own blown hair,
风吹着我的棕发将自己的嘴堵住，

Tearing off my voice, and the sea
撕裂我的声音，而大海

Blinding me with its lights, the lives of the dead
耀眼的光遮蔽了我，死者的生命

Unreeling in it, spreading like oil.
铺展开，如油一般弥散。

I tasted the malignity of the gorse,
我品尝过金雀花的恶意，

Its black spikes,
黑色的长刺

The extreme unction of its yellow candle-flowers.
黄色的烛形花，临终圣事。

They had an efficiency, a great beauty,
它们有功效，极好的美事，

And were extravagant, like torture.
但是太奢侈，像一种折磨。

There was only one place to get to.
只可通向一个地方。

Simmering, perfumed,
芳香浓郁，渐渐地

The paths narrowed into the hollow.
小路都变窄通向那个空洞。

And the snares almost effaced themselves—
那些陷阱几乎隐藏得无形——

Zeros, shutting on nothing,
归零，虚无关闭了，

Set close, like birth pangs.
关紧了，如生产的剧痛。

The absence of shrieks
尖叫声后的空荡

Made a hole in the hot day, a vacancy.
在炎热的白天钻个洞，一个空洞。

The glassy light was a clear wall,
透明的光是清晰的墙，

The thickets quiet.
灌木丛安静了。

I felt a still busyness, an intent.
我感到死气沉沉的忙碌，一种意图。

I felt hands round a tea mug, dull, blunt,
我感到双手捂着茶杯，沉闷，麻木，

Ringing the white china.
围绕着白色陶瓷杯。

How they awaited him, those little deaths!
它们等着他，那些小死神！

They waited like sweethearts. They excited him.
它们好像等待心上人。它们让他兴奋。

And we, too, had a relationship—
而我们，也曾，有过恋爱关系——

Tight wires between us,
我们之间紧绷的钢丝，

Pegs too deep to uproot, and a mind like a ring
如销钉太深无法拔起，而头脑似一枚戒指

Sliding shut on some quick thing,
滑动并关闭了敏感之事，

The constriction killing me also.
紧压的感觉也使我窒息。

(1962/05/21. pp.193—194. No. 164)
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