黑色电影

他太兴奋了以至于睡不着。
小狗不停地叫。
他拿出了他的枪。
他拿出了他的手帕。
他拿出了他的笔记本。
他喝了他的咖啡并留下了一角钱。
他走进了那个房间。
他把她拉进怀里。
她叫他走出这个房间。
他跑下自动扶梯。

他让发动机不熄火。
他在雨中等待。
他需要一些可以告诉警方的事。
他渐渐昏迷。
血从他脸上流下来。
他的眼睛融化作微笑。
他拨了一个号码在等待，看着周围。
他在电梯里脱下帽子。
他按了门铃并等待。
他倒好麦片并加上牛奶。

他打开冰箱并往里面看。
他翻页并继续阅读。
他关上门并打开灯。
他仰视天空的飞机。
他把三个硬币叠起来。
他挤进电梯。
他拿出他的钥匙。
他帮她穿上大衣。
他穿过房间拿起电话。
他开车穿过大雨倾盆。

他吹口哨叫停一辆出租车。
他转过街角和她撞在一起。
她逐渐屈服于他的吻。
他开车穿过熟铁大门。
他点燃一支香烟并且等待。
他对警察说了谎。
他掷了色子并且赢了。
他折叠他的报纸并且交叉他的腿。
他在大厅坐下。
他系上鞋带并且站直。

他戴上他的帽子但并没有起身。
他在想她直到睡着。
他说“再见”并且挂断电话。
他掷了色子并且输了。
他拔通电话希望她应答。
他给她留下了一些钱。
他在寻找她的门牌号码。
警察来晚了。
他走进她住的楼房。
他让她做解释。

他放弃了希望开始祈求。
他锁好他的车并且走路。
她给他看了自己的样子。
他把一只手指放进自己的唇间。
他抹了下嘴并且离开。
他重重地扇了她的耳光。
他在黑暗中点燃了香烟。
警察无法理解。
她的小狗睡着了。
她的声音让它更容易入眠。

在她抚摸他的时候她的手是那么完美。
他的大脑可能在和他玩把戏。
矮矮的小山让他想起她。
没有什么能够减少他的损失。
他需要理发刮胡子。
咖啡对他没有起一点作用。
在他打电话的时候她在其他什么地方。
在他走向放手套的隔间时疼痛在刺伤着他。
他需要在沙漠里待一段时间。
他决定去海滩好好想一想。

他需要大约5000美元。
他抽完了“好彩”香烟并且把行李弄皱。
他把帽子留在了汽车里。
或许他已经准备好去死。
他检查自己的钱包。
他所有的朋友都已消失。
他记起了她的裸体。
他几乎没有积蓄。
他已经超重了起码10磅。
他发现自己爱上了她。

作者 / [美国] 阿拉姆·萨罗扬
译者 / 光诸

Film Noir

He was too excited to fall asleep.
The little dog wouldn’t stop barking.
He took out his gun.
He took out his handkerchief.
He took out his notebook.
He drank his coffee and left a dime.
He walked into the room.
He took her in his arms.
She let him in and walked out of the room.
He ran down the escalator.

He left the motor running.
He waited in the rain.
He needed something to tell the police.
He went down unconscious.
The blood drained from his face.
His eyes melted into a smile.
He dialed and waited, looking around.
He took off his hat in the elevator.
He rang the doorbell and waited.
He poured the cereal and added milk.

He opened the refrigerator and looked in.
He turned the page and continued reading.
He shut the door and switched the light on.
He looked up at a plane in the sky.
He put three pennies one on top of another.
He squeezed onto the elevator.
He took out his key.
He helped her into her coat.
He crossed the room and picked up the phone.
He drove on through the heavy rain.

He whistled for a cab.
He turned the corner and bumped into her.
She gradually surrendered to his kiss.
He drove past the wrought-iron gates.
He lit a cigarette and waited.
He lied to the police.
He threw the dice and won.
He folded the newspaper and crossed his legs.
He sat down in the lobby.
He tied his shoes and stood up.

He put on his hat but didn’t get up.
He thought about her until he fell asleep.
He said “Goodbye” and hung up.
He threw the dice and lost.
He dialed and waited for her to answer.
He left some money for her.
He looked for her door number.
The police arrived late.
He walked into her building.
He let her do the explaining.

He gave up hope and begged.
He locked his car and walked.
She gave him that look of hers.
He put a finger to his lips.
He wiped his mouth and left.
He slapped her across the face hard.
He lit a cigarette in the dark.
The police wouldn’t understand.
Her little dog slept.
Her voice had an edge to it.

Her hands were wonderful when she touched him.
His mind might be playing tricks on him.
The low hills reminded him of her.
There was no way to cut his losses.
He needed a shave and a haircut.
The coffee did nothing for him.
She was somewhere else when he called.
Pain stabbed him as he reached toward the glove compartment.
He needed a little time in the desert.
He decided to head for the beach and then thought better.

He needed about $5,000.
He ran out of Luckies and crumpled the pack.
He left his hat on in the car.
Maybe he was ready to die.
He checked his wallet pocket.
All of his friends had disappeared.
He remembered her naked body.
He had almost no savings.
He was at least ten pounds overweight.
He realized he was in love with her.

Aram Saroyan

 

今天这首诗有点长，我翻译的时候直嘀咕：怎么还没完？但是看下来很轻松，并不觉得长，只是苦了读诗的同事们。

本诗写得很有意思，它的作者阿拉姆·萨罗扬是一个很“喜欢玩儿”的人，是诗人里面的概念艺术家，还创造了一个吉尼斯纪录。他最大的“贡献”是所谓的“一字诗”，就是一首诗只有一个英文单词。萨罗扬写的最有名的“一字诗”是在一张白纸的正中心写了一个词“lighght”。这是什么鬼？这是“光”–“light”这个词的中间凭空加了“gh”这两个字母。可能诸位里面已经有些人看出了一点意思，萨罗扬的崇拜者 Bob Grumman 对这首“诗”的解释是“你打开电灯的时候电灯闪了一下，然后，‘扑’的一下，电灯完全地亮起来了！”

萨罗扬写的另一首奇葩的“一字诗”是一个重新塑造的字母“m”，它把m的“三条腿”改成了“四条腿”，成了下面这个奇怪的形状。

Grumman 对这首“诗”的解读是，这个形状既可以看作“m和n在分裂过程中”，也可以看作是“i am”，它暗示了“自我意识的形成过程”。不管你觉得这种“脑残粉”解读是不是有道理，反正吉尼斯世界纪录把这首“诗”收了进去，条目是“世界上最短的诗”，看起来，这个纪录是没法打破了。

相比起来，《黑色电影》这首诗虽然有点怪，但已经算是比较重规重矩了。英文题目“film noir”源自于法文，看上去很高级的样子，字面上的意思是“黑色电影”，它可以理解成“没有完全的正面人物的都市犯罪电影”。这类电影中道德划分很模糊，主人公即使想要伸张正义也需要用非法的手段，而且往往会失败或者陷入另一种罪恶。经典“黑色电影”的代表是《马尔他之鹰》，新派“黑色电影”的代表是《唐人街》和《洛城机密》。

《黑色电影》这首诗粗读起来只是一幅黑色电影中典形桥段的拼贴画，拼贴得有态度有美感。但仔细品味，会发现似乎还不止于此。在诗中有很多可以对应和连缀的句子，比如“他喝了他的咖啡并留下了一角钱/咖啡对他没有起一点作用”；“他点燃一支香烟并且等待/他抽完了“好彩”香烟并且把行李弄皱”。还有一些相反的场景，比如“小狗不停地叫/她让小狗睡着了”；“他掷了色子并且赢了、他掷了色子并且输了”。甚至还能从中看到一些完整故事的端倪：“他把她拉进怀里/他帮她穿上大衣/她逐渐屈服于他的吻/她给他看了自己的样子/矮矮的小山让他想起她/他记起了她的裸体”。仔细读这首诗，会发现很多潜藏的故事。

这就体现了一种写诗的气象和风度。诗人不但尽情戏玩，并且道出了人生三味。我们的生活不正是像一幅扭曲错乱的拼贴画，充满了满长的等待，琐细的失落，忐忑的敲门，反复浮现，逐渐纽结的是爱和死亡。

荐诗 / 光诸
2015/11/16

 

 

题图 / Paul Strand, Wall Street