[Friday, December 29, 1961]
--Sylvia Plath

我正坐在客廳,傍著劈啪作響的柴火
壁爐臺灰色依舊,襯著紅燭
還有五十多張耶誕賀卡;我們肥肥的小樹
棲著許多銀色小鳥與亮片
一顆顆心型的香料餅乾也還在上面,尚有全新、紅燈心絨
我剛剛才拉上去的窗簾
弄得滿室亮堂堂、喜洋洋,宛若置身
情人節…

I am sitting in our living room by a crackling wood fire,
Our mantel still gay with red candles
And about fifty Christmas cards; our fat little tree
With its silver birds and tinsel
And spice-cake hearts still up, and the new, red corduroy
Curtains I have just finished drawn,
Making the room bright and cheerful, like the inside
Of a Valentine…

產婆建議我置辦個溫度計
監測新生兒房間的溫度。我大為訝異
我們家的平均水準——
在走廊與沒暖氣的房間——約攝氏五度(我們臥房才四度
至少早晨如此!)電暖器讓我感覺很暖和
有個十一、二度吧…看來一切全靠個人
習慣於否

The midwife suggested I get a thermometer
To see the temperature of the new baby’s room. I was amazed.
The general level of the house——
In halls and unheated rooms——is about 40° (38° in our bedroom
In the morning!). An electric heater gets it feeling very hot
At 50°-55°…It all depends on what one
Gets used to.

我們這個耶誕節是我至今最快樂最滿足的…
我們裝飾了耶誕樹佈置了驚喜的
一大落禮物於耶誕夜。耶誕日一開始
我們仨先吃了每日例行的
一碗熱呼呼的燕麥粥(是妳與奶奶教我做的)
再領著芙伊達去客廳,她還沒看過妝點佈置後的樣子
我真希望妳看看她當時的表情!

Our Christmas was the happiest and fullest I have ever known…
We trimmed the tree and set out our amazing
Stacks of gifts on Christmas Eve. Then Christmas Day we started
The three of us off with our daily ration
Of soup plates of hot oatmeal (something you and grammy taught me),
Then led Frieda into the living room, which she had not seen in its decorated state.
I wish you could have seen her face!

耶誕日其他時間都在做我第一次全然美麗的
金褐色火雞,內塞妳的碎麵包填餡配方、
奶油拌球芽甘藍加上栗子與蕪菁甘藍(像南瓜
呈橙色)、雜碎肉汁、蘋果派和我們最後的
餘下的蘋果。我們仨在午後享用了美好的一餐
小芙伊達用湯匙把每道菜攪個遍
接著,就是爐火邊的寧靜夜晚…

…I spent the rest of Christmas making my first simply beautiful
Golden-brown turkey with your bread dressing,
Creamed brussels sprouts and chestnuts, swede (like squash,
Orange), giblet gravy and apple pies with our last
And saved own apples. We all three had a fine feast in the midafternoon,
With little Frieda spooning up everything.
Then a quiet evening by the fire…

P.S.此作原文是Sylvia Plath寫給母親的信,由筆者重新排版斷句譯成.

Quoted from: Sylvia Plath, Aurelia Schober Plath, ed., Letters Home: Correspondence 1950-1963 (New York: HarperPerennial, 1992), p.440.


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