雙語·《西爾維婭·普拉斯詩集》 申請人

The Applicant
申請人

First, are you our sort of a person?
首先，你是我們的同類人？

Do you wear
你用不用

A glass eye, false teeth or a crutch,
玻璃眼珠，假牙或拐杖，

A brace or a hook,
牙套或鉤子，

Rubber breasts or a rubber crotch,
橡膠乳房或橡膠胯部，

Stitches to show something’s missing? No, no? Then
針疤表示缺了什么？沒，沒缺？那么

How can we give you a thing?
我們?nèi)绾谓o你一樣?xùn)|西？

Stop crying.
別再哭泣。

Open your hand.
伸出你的手。

Empty? Empty. Here is a hand
空的？空的。給你一只手

To fill it and willing
來填滿它，它愿意

To bring teacups and roll away headaches
端來茶杯，驅(qū)散頭痛

And do whatever you tell it.
你要它干什么它都干。

Will you marry it?
你愿意娶它嗎？

It is guaranteed
它保證

To thumb shut your eyes at the end
臨終時，用拇指合上你的雙眼，

And dissolve of sorrow.
消除憂愁。

We make new stock from the salt.
我們用鹽制成新產(chǎn)品。

I notice you are stark naked.
我注意到你赤身裸體，

How about this suit——
這套衣服如何——

Black and stiff, but not a bad fit.
黑色，硬挺，還算合身。

Will you marry it?
你愿意娶它嗎？

It is waterproof, shatterproof, proof
防水，防碎，防止

Against fire and bombs through the roof.
火、炸彈穿透屋頂。

Believe me, they’ll bury you in it.
相信我，你下葬時也穿這衣。

Now your head, excuse me, is empty.
請原諒，你的頭，是空的。

I have the ticket for that.
我有那張入場券。

Come here, sweetie, out of the closet.
來這兒，寶貝，走出密室吧。

Well, what do you think of that?
嗯，那事你看如何？

Naked as paper to start
婚姻開始赤裸如紙

But in twenty-five years she’ll be silver,
但二十五年后她將是銀的，

In fifty, gold.
五十年后，金的。

A living doll, everywhere you look.
一個活玩偶，隨你怎么端詳。

It can sew, it can cook,
它會縫紉，它會烹調(diào)，

It can talk, talk, talk.
它會說話，說話，說話。

It works, there is nothing wrong with it.
它很有效，什么事都不會做錯。

You have a hole, it’s a poultice.
你有個傷口，它就是敷藥，

You have an eye, it’s an image.
你有個眼睛，它就是影像。

My boy, it’s your last resort.
我的小伙，它是你最后的依靠。

Will you marry it, marry it, marry it.
你可愿意娶它，娶它，娶它。

(1962/10/11. pp.221—222. No.182)
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