無邊的愛

〔美國〕比利·柯林斯　著 秦紅梅　譯

今晨漫步在湖邊，

我愛上了一只鷦鷯。

后來又愛上一只

被貓丟棄在餐桌下的老鼠。

秋天朦朧的夜色里，

我愛上了一個女裁縫，

她依舊在櫥窗內的機器旁忙碌。

后來我又愛上一碗肉湯，

熱氣繚繞猶如海戰的煙霧。

我想，這是人世間最好的一種愛，

不圖回報，不謀饋贈，

沒有爭吵，也無猜忌，

更沒有電話里的無語凝噎。

我愛栗子，

愛爵士帽，愛單手駕車的愜意。

沒有欲望，不會摔門而出。

我愛盆栽橘子樹，

愛干凈的白襯衫和夜晚的熱水澡，

愛橫穿佛羅里達的高速公路。

沒有等待，沒有怨恨，也沒有暴怒，

只是會時不時地心生焦慮。

為那只鷦鷯，

把巢筑在懸于水面的低枝上。

為那只老鼠，

死時還穿著一身淺棕色外衣。

但我的心始終屹立在生命的支柱上，

準備迎接下一支箭鏃。

我抓住老鼠的尾巴，

把它放進林中落葉堆里后，

發現自己站在盥洗池前

深情地注視著一塊香皂。

它如此堅韌，卻又易于溶解，

在淡綠色的香皂盒里是那么安適。

當感到它在我濕漉漉的手里滑動，

并捕捉到薰衣草和石料的味道，

我覺得自己再次墜入愛河。

By Billy Collins

This morning as I walked along the lake shore，

I fell in love with a wren

and later in the day with a mouse

the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening，

I fell for a seamstress

still at her machine in the tailors window，

and later for a bowl of broth，

steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love， I thought，

without recompense， without gifts，

or unkind words， without suspicion，

or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut，

the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust， no slam of the door—

the love of the miniature orange tree，

the clean white shirt， the hot evening shower，

the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting， no huffiness， or rancor—

just a twinge now and then

For the wren who had built her nest

on a low branch overhanging the water.

and for the dead mouse，

still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always standing on its tripod，

ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail

to a pile of leaves in the woods，

I found myself standing at the bathroom sink

gazing down affectionately at the soap，

so patient and soluble，

so at home in its pale green soap dish.

I could feel myself falling again

as I felt its turning in my wet hands

and caught the scent of lavender and stone.