Magi
贤 士

The abstracts hover like dull angels:
各种抽象盘旋像迟钝的天使：

Nothing so vulgar as a nose or an eye
没有与鼻、眼一样庸俗的东西

Bossing the ethereal blanks of their face-ovals.
主宰鹅蛋脸的超俗、无邪。

Their whiteness bears no relation to laundry,
它们的白色与洗净的衣服无关，

Snow, chalk or suchlike. They’re
也与雪、粉笔这类无关。它们是

The real thing, all right:the Good, the True—
真实之物，完全真实：善良，真实——

Salutary and pure as boiled water,
仿佛沸水那样效果好、纯真，

Loveless as the multiplication table.
仿佛乘法计算表那样无趣。

While the child smiles into thin air.
而孩子的微笑飘进轻薄空气中。

Six months in the world, and she is able
六个月大的婴儿，她可以

To rock on all fours like a padded hammock.
四肢着地爬，像有衬垫的吊床。

For her, the heavy notion of Evil
对她而言，阴沉的罪恶之念

Attending her cot is less than a belly ache,
笼罩着婴儿床，比不上肚子疼痛，

And Love the mother of milk, no theory.
母亲哺乳之爱，根本不是学说。

They mistake their star, these papery godfolk.
他们将圣诞星弄错了，这些神之民间传说。

They want the crib of some lamp-headed Plato.
他们想要婴儿有柏拉图般的智慧。

Let them astound his heart with their merit.
用他们的功绩震撼他的心。

What girl ever flourished in such company?
这样的陪伴，怎样的女孩茁壮成长？

(1960. p.148. No.130)
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