Abandoned Farmhouse
废弃的农舍
By Ted Kooser［美］特德·库塞
翻译／唐凯
He was a big man, says the size of his shoes
on a pile of broken dishes by the house;
a tall man too, says the length of the bed
in an upstairs room; and a good, God-fearing man,
says the Bible with a broken back
on the floor below the window, dusty with sun;
but not a man for farming, say the fields
cluttered with boulders and the leaky barn.
鞋子的尺码表明：他是个大人。
（鞋子在房子旁边的一堆碎盘子上）
床的长度表明：他也是个高个子。
（床在楼上的一个房间里）
破损了封底的一本圣经表明：他还是个虔诚的信徒。
（圣经在窗户下方的地面上，布满灰尘洒满阳光）
而农田却表明：他并不是一个适合种田的人。
（田地乱石丛生，牲口棚漏洞）
A woman lived with him, says the bedroom wall
papered with lilacs and the kitchen shelves
covered with oilcloth, and they had a child,
says the sandbox made from a tractor tire.
Money was scarce, say the jars of plum preserves
and canned tomatoes sealed in the cellar hole.
And the winters cold, say the rags in the window frames.
It was lonely here, says the narrow country road.
卧室的墙壁表明：有一个女人和他一起生活。
（墙壁上糊着丁香纸，厨房的架子上盖着油布）
由拖拉机轮胎改制的沙箱表明：他们还有一个孩子。
装李子酱的罐子表明：钱是缺乏的。
（罐装的番茄密封在地洞里）
窗框上的破布表明：冬季是寒冷的。
狭窄的乡土路表明：这里十分冷清。
Something went wrong, says the empty house
in the weed-choked yard. Stones in the fields
say he was not a farmer; the still-sealed jars
in the cellar say she left in a nervous haste.
And the child? Its toys are strewn in the yard
like branches after a storm--a rubber cow,
a rusty tractor with a broken plow,
a doll in overalls. Something went wrong, they say.
后来出事了，空荡荡的房子说。
（房子坐落在杂草纵横的院子）田地里的石堆
说他不是个农民，地下仍然密封的罐子
说他走于行色匆匆。
孩子呢？它的玩具散落整个院子，
像暴风雨袭过的树枝――还剩一头橡皮牛，
一台生锈的拖拉机拖着一张损坏了的犁，
工服里一只洋娃娃。后来出事了，它们说。
Ted Kooser (b. 1939)作者介绍：美国桂冠诗人（2004）
Born in Iowa and a lifelong midwesterner currently residing in Nebraska, Ted Kooser (1939—) portrays a rural lifestyle with concision and directness in his poetry. Kooser chose to work in the insurance business and write on the side rather than pursue a career in academia. In 2004 Kooser was named Poet Laureate of the United States.