贊歌獻(xiàn)給這一天

這期給大家?guī)?lái)耶魯大學(xué)非裔教授Elizabeth Alexander(1962— )于今年1月20日在奧巴馬就職典禮上朗誦的由她所作的這首Praise Song for the Day。Elizabeth Alexander同時(shí)還是個(gè)詩(shī)人、散文家、劇作家，曾獲普利策獎(jiǎng)。這首詩(shī)屬于傳統(tǒng)詩(shī)歌形式中的“occasional poem”——起源于古典拉丁詩(shī)人為慶賀、紀(jì)念或緬懷特殊事件、場(chǎng)合、典禮(如生日、婚禮、喪禮、建筑物落成、戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)勝利等)而寫(xiě)下的詩(shī)作。

美國(guó)民眾對(duì)這首詩(shī)的評(píng)價(jià)褒貶不一。有的人認(rèn)為這首詩(shī)是真實(shí)生活的寫(xiě)照，寫(xiě)得很實(shí)在;有的人則認(rèn)為其主題太過(guò)普通，“借著枯燥乏味的日常生活寫(xiě)照，試圖呈現(xiàn)美國(guó)多元文化的大合唱，但其實(shí)只在詩(shī)中輕描淡寫(xiě)地帶過(guò)非裔美國(guó)人在美國(guó)的歷史地位?！?/p>

拋開(kāi)這首詩(shī)作的任何政治目的不管，我認(rèn)為這首詩(shī)還是寫(xiě)得挺不錯(cuò)的，“平淡中見(jiàn)真”。如果一個(gè)國(guó)家的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者能做到讓人們安居樂(lè)業(yè)，且有正面的精神追求，那么這個(gè)國(guó)家就是充滿希望的。正是那腳踏實(shí)地默默實(shí)干的勞作者構(gòu)成了一個(gè)國(guó)家最堅(jiān)固的基石。

Praise song for struggle!

Praise song for the day!

Each day we go about our business，

walking past each other， catching each other’s

eyes or not， about to speak or speaking.

All about us is noise. All about us is

noise and 1)bramble， thorn and 2)din， each

one of our ancestors on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem， 3)darning

a hole in a uniform， 4)patching a tire，

repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere，

with a pair of wooden spoons on an 5)oil drum，

with 6)cello， 7)boombox， 8)harmonica， voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky.

A teacher says， Take out your pencils. Begin.

We encounter each other in words， words

9)spiny or smooth， whispered or declaimed，

words to consider， reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark

the will of someone and then others， who said

I need to see what’s on the other side.

I know there’s something better down the road.

We need to find a place where we are safe.

We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

10)Say it plain: that many have died for this day.

Sing the names of the dead who brought us here，

who laid the train tracks， raised the bridges，

picked the cotton and the lettuce， built

brick by brick the glittering 11)edifices

they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle， praise song for the day.

Praise song for every hand-lettered sign，

the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself，

others by first do no harm or take no more

than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

Love beyond marital， 12)filial， national，

love that casts a widening pool of light，

love with no need to 13)pre-empt grievance.

In today’s sharp sparkle， this winter air，

any thing can be made， any sentence begun.

On the brink， on the brim， on the 14)cusp，

praise song for walking forward in that light.

每一天，我們忙于自己的事，

彼此擦肩而過(guò)，或瞥見(jiàn)對(duì)方

或無(wú)視對(duì)方，想說(shuō)話或正在說(shuō)話。

我們周遭全是噪音。我們周遭全是

噪音和荊棘，芒刺和喧囂。我們

談?wù)撝恳晃蛔嫦取?/p>

有人在縫褶邊，補(bǔ)

制服上的一個(gè)洞，修補(bǔ)一個(gè)輪胎，

修補(bǔ)需要修補(bǔ)的東西。

有人試著用一對(duì)木勺敲擊油桶，

用大提琴、音箱喇叭、口琴和人聲，

在某處奏樂(lè)。

一個(gè)女人和她的兒子在等公車(chē);

一位農(nóng)夫在細(xì)看變幻的天空;

一位老師說(shuō)，拿出你們的鉛筆，開(kāi)始。

我們彼此在言辭中相遇，帶刺