The Sad Shepherd
The Sad Shepherd
by William Butler Yeats
There was a man whom Sorrow named his Friend,
And he, of his high comrade Sorrow dreaming,
Went walking with slow steps along the gleaming
And humming Sands, where windy surges wend:
And he called loudly to the stars to bend
From their pale thrones and comfort him, but they
Among themselves laugh on and sing alway:
And then the man whom Sorrow named his friend
Cried out, Dim sea, hear my most piteous story.!
The sea Swept on and cried her old cry still,
Rolling along in dreams from hill to hill.
He fled the persecution of her glory
And, in a far-off, gentle valley stopping,
Cried all his story to the dewdrops glistening.
But naught they heard, for they are always listening,
The dewdrops, for the sound of their own dropping.
And then the man whom Sorrow named his friend
Sought once again the shore, and found a shell,
And thought, I will my heavy story tell
Till my own words, re-echoing, shall send
Their sadness through a hollow, pearly heart;
And my own talc again for me shall sing,
And my own whispering words be comforting,
And lo! my ancient burden may depart.
Then he sang softly nigh the pearly rim;
But the sad dweller by the sea-ways lone
Changed all he sang to inarticulate moan
Among her wildering whirls, forgetting him.
悲哀的牧人
傅浩 譯
有一個人被“憂傷”當作朋友，
他，渴想著“憂傷”他那高貴的伙伴，
去沿著那微光閃爍、輕聲吟唱的沙灘
慢步行走，那里狂風挾著巨浪怒吼。
他向著群星大聲呼喚，請求它們
從銀色寶座上俯下身來安慰他，
可它們只顧自己不斷地大笑和唱歌。
于是那被“憂愁”當作朋友的人
哭喊：昏暗的海，請聽我可悲的故事！
大海洶涌，依然喊著她那古老的嘶喊，
帶著睡夢翻滾過一個又一個山巒。
他從她的壯美榮耀的析磨下逃離，
遠遠地到一處溫柔的山谷中停下，
向晶瑩的露珠把他全部的故事哭訴。
可它們什么也沒有聽見，因為露珠
永遠在傾聽它們自身滴落的聲音。
于是那被“憂愁”當作朋友的人
又回到海灘搜尋，找到了一只空螺，
思忖：我要把我沉痛的故事述說，
直到我自己的、再度回響的話音，
把悲哀送進一顆空洞的珍珠般的心里；
直到我自己的故事重新為我謳歌；
直到我自己的低語令人感到慰藉；
那時，看！我古老的重負就可以脫離。
于是他對著溫潤的螺唇輕輕地歌唱；
但是那孤寂的大海邊悲傷的居民
在她那迷人的螺旋中把他的歌聲
都變成了含混的呻吟，把他遺忘。
威廉?巴特勒?葉芝簡介
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