Walt Whitman (1819–1892) 沃尔特惠特曼

Leaves of Grass 《草叶集》

166. O Me! O Life!

O me! O life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring — What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

单词注释：

recur v. 再发生; 复发

reproach v. n. 责备

faithless adj. 不忠实的，无信仰的

vainly adv. 徒然地，白费地

crave v. 渴望

struggle n. v. 争斗, 搏斗

plod v. 脚步沉重地走

sordid adj. 邋遢的，肮脏的

intertwine v. 纠缠，缠绕

amid prep. 在…之中

exist v. 存在

identity n. 本体，身分

contribute v. 捐赠，贡献

verse n. 韵文，诗句

中文译文： 

啊，自我！ 啊，生命！这个问题总在不停出现，

毫无信仰的人群川流不息；繁华的城市却充斥着愚昧；

不停的自责，我不停的自责（而那些比我还愚蠢的、毫无信仰可言的人呢？）

贪婪的眼睛，吝啬的家伙，一成不变的挣扎，

所有的恶果，周遭肮脏的人群，

空虚无为的余生， 纠缠着我，

这个问题，啊，自我！如此伤神，如此绵长。

这样又有什么好处？啊，自我， 啊，生命？

答案是：

因为此刻、你在此地——皆为生命之存在、其意之昭然；

因为这伟大的戏剧不断前进，因为你可以献上一首诗。

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