Warning

Jenny Joseph 珍妮·约瑟夫

警告

覃学岚 译

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple

With a red hat that doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickles for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

and pay our rent and not swear in the street

and set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

等成了老太婆，我要穿一身紫袍

戴一顶不协调、不般配的红帽。

我要把养老金拿来买白兰地和防晒手套

外加一双缎子鞋，还说我们没钱买黄油。

累了就往马路上一坐

狼吞虎咽吃商店送的样品，按警报

边走边拿棍子把公共栏杆刷

弥补年轻那会儿的清醒

我要靸着拖鞋去雨里泡

到别人园子里去采花草

还要学着吐唾沫。

你可以穿不像样的衬衣，长得更胖

一口吃下三磅腊肠

也可以仅用面包和泡菜打发一星期

把钢笔铅笔酒杯垫子统统藏到箱子里。

可眼下我们必须有衣服保持干爽

必须交房租，不得在街上骂骂咧咧

必须为孩子们树立一个好榜样。

我们必须请朋友吃饭，还须看报。

不过或许我现在应该练一会儿？

这样，等我突然老了，开始穿紫袍，

认识我的人便不至于吓一跳。