悲惨世界

ca. 2050-1786 B.C. --- Figures depicting household activities were made in Ancient Egypt. This is a Middle Kingdom model depicting the preparation of bread and beer. | Located in: Musee du Louvre.  --- Image by ?Gianni Dagli Orti/Corbis

干面包

生活在悲惨的土地上
等同于生活在悲惨的时代。
现在注视倾斜的巨大山石,
和在石上冲出道路的河流,
注视生活在这土地上人们的茅屋。

这是我在面包后面画出的,
没有被雪触及的石头,
沿河的松树和呆板的人们,吹成
面包一样的棕色,想着鸟儿
从燃烧的国度和棕色的沙岸飞来。

飞来的鸟儿像涌动的脏水
漫过石头,漫过天空,
仿佛天空是承载着它们的气流,
铺展着它们像波浪铺展在岸上的平地,
一波接一波,把山冲洗得祼露。

这是我听到的破损的鼓
这是饥饿,这是饥饿的呼喊
和波浪,这波浪是士兵行进,
前进,前进,在悲惨的时代
在我下面,在柏油路上,在树下。

这是士兵在石头上行进
直到鸟儿飞来,湿乎乎的成群飞来,
因为这是春天,鸟儿不得不飞来。
无疑士兵们不得不行进,
鼓不得不轰响,轰响,轰响。

作者 / [美国] 华莱士•斯蒂文斯
翻译 / 张曙光

Dry Loaf

Itis equal to living in a tragic land
To live in a tragic time.
Regard now the sloping, mountainous rocks
And the river that batters its way over stones,
Regard the hovels of those that live in this land.

That was what I painted behind the loaf,
The rocks not even touched by snow,
The pines along the river and the dry men blown
Brown as the bread, thinking of birds
Flying from burning countries and brown sand shores,

Birds that came like dirty water in waves
Flowing above the rocks, flowing over the sky,
As if the sky was a current that bore them along,
Spreading them as waves spread flat on the shore,
One after another washing the mountains bare.

It was the battering of drums I heard
It was hunger, it was the hungry that cried
And the waves, the waves were soldiers moving,
Marching and marching in a tragic time
Below me, on the asphalt, under the trees.

It was soldiers went marching over the rocks
And still the birds came, came in watery flocks,
Because it was spring and the birds had to come.
No doubt that soldiers had to be marching
And that drums had to be rolling, rolling, rolling.

Wallace Stevens

 

「这是最好的时代,这是最坏的时代……」,世界上最著名的小说开头曾如此让我着迷,像着迷写下它的狄更斯。如今我仍然爱着狄更斯却憎恨这一段,憎恨它骑墙式的所谓睿智,事不关己的相对、辩证,尤其是它太容易被用来概括当下,来消解周遭的雾和暗。「过去曾经饿殍遍野,今天还算不上个好时代吗」,于是当有人因为良心被审判,被胁迫认罪时,也可以轻松地「相对」过去了。

这究竟是个好时代,还是个坏时代,还是像红到发烫的偶像写手所宣称的,是个小时代。

我更热爱的雨果写下了《悲惨世界》,多年沉醉于改编的音乐剧旋律。曾经觉得悲惨世界只是他笔下那时代,终于明了任何时代都可能悲惨。果然,斯蒂文斯写道:「生活在悲惨的土地上,等于生活在悲惨的时代」。

只要有一片土地哪怕是一个人立锥的方寸之地是悲惨的,这就是一个悲惨世界;只要有一个人面临不公正的加害,所有人都是受害者。保险公司总裁斯蒂文斯竟然被饥饿紧紧抓住,饥饿的呼喊在他耳边响彻,涌动的脏水向他扑面而来,难道他是在北京街头呼吸雾霾?他号召士兵们前进,因为在悲惨的时代每个人都是士兵,每个人都不得不行进,向着燃烧的国度。他、以及刚刚被审判的人懂得:不是拥有一块干面包就万事大吉,仅仅填饱了肚子,离人的标准还差得远。

快要过年了,请原谅此时此际提到「悲惨」,因为正有人在过年前走进受难的命境。在离着那片土地既远又近的岛上,我望到不少人站出来呼喊,我看到更多人茫然无知漠不关心,于是不能不想起《悲惨世界》的情节。在这世界上,每个女儿都可能沦为珂赛特,但每个父亲都可以成为冉阿让。不管你觉不觉得这是一个悲惨世界,这土地和时代需要爱和勇气。

 

荐诗 / 亢霖
2014/01/23

 

 

题图 / Model Depicting Preparation of Bread and Beer

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