O Tell Me The Truth About Love

WH Auden

噢，告诉我爱情的真谛吧

覃学岚 译

Some say love’s a little boy,

And some say it’s a bird,

Some say it makes the world go around,

Some say that’s absurd,

And when I asked the man next-door,

Who looked as if he knew,

His wife got very cross indeed,

And said it wouldn’t do.

Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,

Or the ham in a temperance hotel?

Does its odour remind one of llamas,

Or has it a comforting smell?

Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,

Or soft as eiderdown fluff?

Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?

O tell me the truth about love.

Our history books refer to it

In cryptic little notes,

It’s quite a common topic on

The Transatlantic boats;

I’ve found the subject mentioned in

Accounts of suicides,

And even seen it scribbled on

The backs of railway guides.

Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,

Or boom like a military band?

Could one give a first-rate imitation

On a saw or a Steinway Grand?

Is its singing at parties a riot?

Does it only like Classical stuff?

Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?

O tell me the truth about love.

I looked inside the summer-house;

It wasn’t over there;

I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,

And Brighton’s bracing air.

I don’t know what the blackbird sang,

Or what the tulip said;

But it wasn’t in the chicken-run,

Or underneath the bed.

Can it pull extraordinary faces?

Is it usually sick on a swing?

Does it spend all its time at the races,

or fiddling with pieces of string?

Has it views of its own about money?

Does it think Patriotism enough?

Are its stories vulgar but funny?

O tell me the truth about love.

When it comes, will it come without warning

Just as I’m picking my nose?

Will it knock on my door in the morning,

Or tread in the bus on my toes?

Will it come like a change in the weather?

Will its greeting be courteous or rough?

Will it alter my life altogether?

O tell me the truth about love.

有人说爱情是个小男孩，

也有人说它是只小鸟儿，

有人说它令世界动起来，

有人说那是无稽之谈，

我问隔壁家的男人，

他显得好像有点谱，

惹得他的老婆大怒，

说了句问他顶屁用。

它看上去是像一条睡裤

还是像不卖酒的饭店里的火腿？

它闻起来是会令人想到羊驼的气味

还是一种令人心旷神怡的味道？

它摸起来是像树篱一样扎手

还是像鸭绒一样轻柔？

它的棱角是分明还是很圆滑？

噢，告诉我爱情的真谛吧。

我们的史书上涉及到它时

总是遮遮掩掩放在小小的注释里，

它是横越大西洋船上

一个十分普通的话题；

我发现在很多自杀事件的描述里

都提到了爱情的问题，

甚至还在许多列车时刻表的背面

见过与爱情有关的涂鸦。

它听上去是像阿尔萨斯饿狼的嚎叫，

还是像军乐那样雄壮？

有谁能在弓毛或者史坦威大钢琴上

来他个一流的模仿？

它在派对上一亮歌喉就轰动？

它是不是只喜欢经典的乐曲？

想要安静时它会停下来吗？

噢，告诉我爱情的真谛吧。

我朝花园凉亭里瞅了瞅；

它不在里头；

我尝过梅登海德的泰晤士河水

呼吸过布莱顿的清新空气。

我不清楚黑鸟唱的是哪一曲，

也不明白郁金香说的是啥语；

不过它不在小鸡快跑的游戏里，

也不在床脚下。

它会说变脸就变脸吗？

是不是晃荡两下它就不高兴？

它是无时无刻都在疲于竞争？

还是终日里都在拨弦弄琴？

它对金钱是否有自己的见解？

它是否认为有一颗赤子心就已足够？

爱情的故事是否粗俗却有趣？

噢，告诉我爱情的真谛吧。

爱情来临，是否会令人猝不及防

就像我掏鼻子一样？

它会在早晨敲我的房门

还是会踩着我的脚尖上公共汽车？

它会不会像变天那样说阴就阴，说晴就晴？

它是会粗鲁相待还是会以礼相迎？

它是否会彻底改变我的人生？

噢，告诉我爱情的真谛吧。