蔗尾蜂房

"Coon Song" by Jonas Zieher from ABK Stuttgart on Vimeo.

 

浣熊歌

--A.R. Ammons (1926-2001)，羅浩原 譯

　

我看了個仔細

　端詳著浣熊的眼睛

　　當他從樹上掉下來的時候

四腳著地

　穩穩地

　　以他暗沉凶猛的凝視

攫住嗥叫的獵犬們

　那眼神已體認到所有的

　　決定已失敗了

選擇已無關緊要，接下來

　戰鬥即將降臨

　　將會鬆解掉

那段屬於他的時光的小繩結：

　

　　杜斯妥也夫斯基一定會認為

重要的是浣熊是否

　能夠選擇

　　爬回樹上去：

或是他當初能否選擇

　在池沼邊幹活

　　把爪子探進水裡抓逃散的

小螯蝦：浣熊則可能

　實際上在夢想著蜷縮進

　　那被挖了洞的磨損處

那株傾倒的橡樹，某隻松鼠

　曾經銜著

　　乾淨的樹葉

攀爬直上雲霄：但是

　

　　現實能糟得跟地獄一般

這就是浣熊的眼神對我訴說的：

　並告訴我

　　問題的解法

其實很簡單：只需要

　就好：我感覺那浣熊

　　並不憤怒，

無視一切；毫不在意膽怯、

　或勇敢；牠實際上

　　厭倦了

去知道什麼將接踵而至：

　繩結鬆解、那漩渦般的狗嚎

　　被掀翻露出軟肋，

濕濡的犬齒——問題等著被

　解決，緊緊盤捲起的氣力

　　要去狩獵

隨時準備脫閘而出：

　

　你想知道發生了什麼事，

你想聽我描敘這件事，

　去平息獵犬的嘴

　　在你心中垂涎的獵犬的嘴：

我將不會告訴你：實際上那浣熊

　懷藏密技

　　用爪衝著狗群撥沙

然後群狗消失了，狂吠著進入

　荒無，然後浣熊走向

　　窪處的池塘

清洗牠的手和臉，然後注視著

　這世界：或許牠根本沒這樣：

　　我不是奴隸所以我

無須娛樂你，無須說你想聽的話

　無須讓你縱情打滾於

　　你的爛泥灘：一、二、三、四、五：

一、二、三、四、五、六、七、八、九、十：

（我這整段時間其實都在

　　測算著空間

而你都在想別的事情）

　在你自己懶散的爛泥灘裡亂搞：

　　那群獵犬消失了

吠叫著（像是你要瀕臨滅種的樣子）

　進入——秩序

　在此崩解——無道失德：

我知道這就是你心目中的勇敢

　小受害者們該去的地方：

　　我不在乎

你怎麼想：我不在乎你怎麼想：

　我不在乎你怎麼

　　想：一、二、三、四、五、

六、七、八、九、十：咱們走

　去繞著那「咱們繞圈圈」，那

　　「咱們在此繞圈」，那「現在咱們

去繞圈」：浣熊最後將錯亂在

　獵犬們的齒下：那情境

　　將攫住牠：

星體紛紛滾動：正方體保持不動：在此現有

　一、二、三、四、五

　　有兩種哲理

咱們在此繞著獵犬們濕濡的嘴：

　　我選擇的是

　　你們：

　　寶貝

　

1959 (1963)

　

　

Coon Song

--A.R. Ammons

　

I got one good look

　in the raccoon's eyes

　　when he fell from the tree

came to his feet

　and perfectly still

　　seized the baying hounds

in his dull fierce stare,

　in that recognition all

　　decision lost,

choice irrelevant, before the

　battle fell

　　and the unwinding

of his little knot of time began:

　

　　Dostoevsky would think

it important if the coon

　could choose to

　　be back up the tree:

or if he could choose to be

　wagging by a swamp pond

　　dabbling at scuttling

crawdads: the coon may have

　dreamed in fact of curling

　　into the holed-out gall

of a fallen oak some squirrel

　had once brought

　　high into the air

clean leaves to: but

　

　　reality can go to hell

is what the coon's eyes said to me:

　and said how simple

　　the solution to my

problem is: it needs only

　not to be: I thought the raccoon

　　felt no anger,

saw none; cared nothing for cowardice,

　bravery; was in fact

　　bored at

knowing what would ensue:

　the unwinding, the whirling growls,

　　exposed tenders,

the wet teeth--a problem to be

　solved, the taut-coiled vigor

　　of the hunt

ready to snap loose:

　

　　you want to know what happened,

you want to hear me describe it,

　to placate the hound's-mouth

　　slobbering in your own heart:

I will not tell you: actually the coon

　possessing secret knowledge

　　pawed dust on the dogs

and they disappeared, yapping into

　nothingness, and the coon went

　　down to the pond

and washed his face and hands and beheld

　the world: maybe he didn't:

　　I am no slave that I

should entertain you, say what you want

　to hear, let you wallow in

　　your silt: one two three four five:

one two three four five six seven eight nine ten:

　(all this time I've been

　　counting spaces

while you were thinking of something else)

　mess in your own sloppy silt:

　　the hounds disappeared

yelping (the way you would at extinction)

　into--the order

　breaks up here--immortality:

I know that's where you think the brave

　little victims should go:

　　I do not care what

you think: I do not care what you think:

　I do not care what you

　　think: one two three four five

six seven eight nine ten: here we go

　round the here-we-go-round, the

　　here-we-go-round, the here-we-

go-round: coon will end in disorder at the

　teeth of hounds: the situation

　　will get him:

spheres roll, cubes stay put: now there

　one two three four five

　　are two philosophies

here we go round the mouth-wet of hounds:

　　what I choose

　　is youse:

　　baby

　

1959 (1963)

　

A. R. Ammons, The Complete Poems of A. R. Ammons: Volume 1 1955-1977, New York & London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2017, pp.97-99.