26. Boy's Heartsongs

26. 男孩的心声

Mattie Stepanek is wheeling around his living room like any ll-year-old boy on an electric scooter. But Mattie's "scooter" is his life station-an electric wheelchair. He suffers from a rare form of muscular dystrophy, a ventilator supplying his oxygen. Mattie, wise beyond his years, has become the newest rage in the publishing world with his tiny volume of inspiring poems, Heartsongs, and its sequel, Journey Tbrough Heartsongs.

11岁的马蒂·斯特潘涅克像其他任何一个同龄的孩子一样开着踏板车在客厅里转来转去。但他却终生要坐在这辆车上一辆电动轮椅。他患有一种罕见的肌肉萎缩症，靠吸氧器供氧。与同聋令人相比，马蒂聪颖过人，他那本薄薄的励志诗集《心声》及续集《心声之旅》已掀起了出版界的最新风暴。

I'm a bit surprised," Mattie says. "I never thought my message would get out so quickly."

“我感到有点儿惊讶，”马蒂说，“没想到我的观点传播得这么快。”

He is a poet who calls himself a peacemaker.

这位诗人自称是和平使者。

Mattie's life has been filled with surprises---good and bad. He has almost died more than once, was named the National Goodwill Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. A precocious child who has already studied at a local community college, his goal is to major in peace studies and writing.

他的生活里意外之事总是接连不断，祸福皆有。他不止一次地与死神擦肩而过，曾被任命为全国肌肉萎缩症协会亲善大使，现在智慧、超常的马蒂已在社区大学就读，主修和平研究与写作。

"He lives on the edge. It could be one day or one year," his mother says. Three of Mattie's siblings already have died of the disease. "We've been given the gift of time. He's spending these days living, not dying." Meanwhile, Mattie continues what he calls his "peace work," with a possible speaking tour in the works. "We need to win the war on terrorism with words, not bombs," he says. "We need to sit down and listen to our heartsongs. We need to stop fighting over things that don't matter, things like land and money," Mattie says.

“他生活在生命的边缘，可能还能再活一天，也可能是一年，”他母亲说，马蒂兄弟姐妹中已有三人因肌肉萎缩症而相继离开了人世。“我们很幸运他能活到今天，这些日子他活得很有意义，而不是在等死。”同时，马蒂还在继续从事着他的“和平事业”，并有可能做一次有关的巡回演讲。“要赢得反恐战争的胜利，我们需要的是语言，而不是炸弹，”他说，“我们需要坐下来倾听我们的心声，不再为土地、金钱这些无足轻重的东西争夺不休。”

He has already become a pro at the celebrity game, taking interviews into his own hands.

对名人生活他已习以为常，在各种采访中驾轻就熟。