菲利普·拉金〉《这就是诗》

This Be the Verse

By Philip Larkin

 

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.

   They may not mean it, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

And add some extra, just for you.

 

But they were fucked up in their turn.

　 By fools in old-style hats and coats

Who half the time were soppy-stern

   And half at one another’s throats.

 

Man hands on misery to man.

   It deepens like a coastal shelf.

Get out as early as you can,

   And don’t have any kids yourself. 

 

 

这就是诗

菲利浦·拉金

 

你的父母，就是他们让你如此糟糕，

       这也许不是其本意，可事实如此

他们不仅把自己全部的缺点遗传给你

       还苦心孤诣地为你增加了不少

 

不过轮到他们自己情况也不无两样

那些穿戴土气的傻瓜们一半时间

固执而愚蠢，一半时间又拔刀相见

然而就是他们造就了你父母他俩

 

人们把痛苦一代一代地遗赠传递

       如大陆架一步一步下陷到海底

劝你尽可能趁早把这一切都脱离

       别再生一堆孩子把这罪恶延续