Audio Reading by Rev. Bill McGinnis
I know what the caged bird feels, 1)alas!
When the sun is bright on the 2)upland slopes;
When the wind 3)stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud 4)opes,
And the faint perfume from its 5)chalice 6)steals——
I know what the caged bird feels!
哎,我了解籠中鳥的感受!
當太陽照在山坡上;
當微風(fēng)輕輕吹拂飛速生長的草兒,
而河流如一彎玻璃漿液流淌;
當?shù)谝恢怀盔B歌唱,第一朵蓓蕾綻放,
淡淡的芬芳悄然飄出時——
我了解籠中鳥的感受!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he 7)fain would be on the 8)bough 9)a-swing;
And a pain still 10)throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a 11)keener sting——
I know why he beats his wing!
我知道籠中鳥為何拍打翅膀,
直到血染紅那殘酷的籠桿;
因為它必須飛回自己的棲枝,而后寸步不離,
那時,它會在枝上欣然躍動;
很久,很久以前的傷痕依然在作痛,
那刺痛愈加強烈——
我了解它為何拍打翅膀!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, ——
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he 12)flings——
I know why the caged bird sings!
哎,我了解籠中鳥為何歌唱,
當它的翅膀受傷,胸脯疼痛,——
當它拍打籠桿,渴望獲得自由;
那不是一首歡快的曲子,
而是從內(nèi)心深處發(fā)出的祈禱,
是向上天拋出的懇求——
我了解籠中鳥為何歌唱!
Paul Laurence Dunbar(1872—1906),著名非裔美國詩人、作家。他在美國俄亥俄州長大,34歲病逝,其父母曾是黑奴。他生前經(jīng)常使用方言寫詩以描述美國黑人的經(jīng)歷,其中最出色的莫過于When De Co’n Pone’s Hot(《玉米甜糕已蒸熟》)這首贊美黑人家庭生活的詩。他生前出版了4部小說和多部詩集,其中,1896年出版的第三部詩集Lyrics of Lowly Life(《下層生活抒情詩》)使他聞名全美。其作品常常幽默與感傷并存,Sympathy表面寫的是籠中鳥失去自由的悲哀,其實是借以暗喻黑人“被囚禁在其‘卑微’而受歧視的身份中”的悲慘生活境遇。同為黑人的Dunbar為身處“囚籠”中的自己和他的黑人兄弟姐妹們發(fā)出吶喊,奮力道出對“自由”和身份平等的本能渴望和向往。順便一提,從小在貧民窟里長大的美國著名黑人女作家和詩人Maya Angelou以此詩第三節(jié)的首句為標題,寫下了記錄自己成長經(jīng)歷的自傳體小說I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(《我知道籠中鳥為何歌唱》)。