陈黎·《魔术师夫人的情人》英译

我如何向你解释这幅早餐的风景

橘子水从果树上掉下，跟着小河流到杯子里来

三明治是两隻美丽的公鸡变的

钻出太阳的总是蛋壳的另一端，不管多重的月亮味道

桌子椅子刚刚从附近的森林砍下

你甚至可以听到叶子的叫声

那些核桃也许就藏在地毯下面，谁知道呢

只有床舖才是稳固的

但她是那么的欢喜巴哈的赋格，因人们多疑而善变的这位

魔术师夫人。你只好彻夜，学她不眠地遁走

（追在后头累得半死的十九是我……）

我恐怕睡醒后她还要弹风琴，喝咖啡，做美容操

哎，谁晓得帽子里煮的是不是咖啡

下一只饶舌又爱卖弄诗句的鹦鹉，不定，就轮到我

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The Lover of the Magician’s Wife

Chen Li

 

How can I explain to you this breakfast scenery?

Orange juice falls off the fruit tree, and then flows along the river into cups;

sandwiches are conjured out of two beautiful roosters.

The sun always rises from the other end of the eggshell, in spite of the strong smell of the moon.

The table and chairs are just hacked off from the nearby forest;

you can even hear the leaves crying.

Maybe walnuts are hiding under the carpet, who knows?

Only the bed is stable.

But she’s so fond of Bach’s fugues—the magician’s wife whose fickleness is due to people’s incredulity.

You can’t but stay up the whole night fleeing with her.

(I’m most likely the one who pants after her, dog-tired…)

I’m afraid after she wakes up she’ll play the organ, drink coffee, and do her calisthenics.

Alas, who knows whether the coffee is boiling in the hat?

It’s my turn, perhaps, to be the next garrulous and verse-parading parrot.