A Man and a Woman Sit Near Each Other 一男一女促膝而坐

Robert Bly

A man and a woman sit near each other, and they do not long

at this moment to be older, or younger, nor born

in any other nation, or time, or place.

They are content to be where they are, talking or not-talking.

Their breaths together feed someone whom we do not know.

The man sees the way his fingers move；

he sees her hands close around a book she hands to him.

They obey a third body that they share in common.

They have made a promise to love the body.

Age may come, parting may come, death will come.

A man and a woman sit near each other；

as they breathe they feed someone we do not know，

someone we know of, whom we have never seen.

一男一女促膝而坐

罗伯特·勃莱

一男一女促膝而坐，这样的时刻

他们不会渴求更老或更加年轻，抑或

生在另一个国度、另一个时间或地点。

他们心满意足于此情此景，无论交谈还是沉默。

他俩的呼吸共同为某个我们所不识的人提供养分。

那个男人看着他手指动弹的样子；

他看到她的双手围拢着一本递过来的书。

他们服从着他们共享的另一个身体。

他们早就作出承诺：爱这身体。

年龄会变老，分离会到来，死亡终会降临。

一男一女这样促膝而坐：

他们呼吸时，为我们所不识的人提供养分，

某个我们知道却从未见面的人。

实战提升

背景知识

罗伯特·勃莱（Robert Bly），二十世纪美国后现代主义诗歌流派新超现实主义（又称“深度意象”）的领袖人物。勃莱是影响过大批当代中国青年诗人的美国诗人之一。他提倡“自然语言”，力图返璞归真；他强调诗歌的音乐性和“内在力量”，认为听众和读者与诗歌的相遇就是人与世界的相遇，他还认为现代世界夺走了语言的意义和情感，而诗人的职责就是要将其还原。他力图摆脱理性和学院派传统的钳制，通过引进中国古典诗、拉美诗歌和欧洲超现实主义诗歌而给美国诗坛带来新的活力。

单词注解

breath[breθ]呼吸，气息

promise['prɔmis]承诺，诺言

feed[fi：d]饲料；牧草

名句诵读

A man and a woman sit near each other, and they do not long at this moment to be older, or younger, nor born in any other nation, or time, or place.

They obey a third body that they share in common.

as they breathe they feed someone we do not know, someone we know of, whom we have never seen.