无边的爱

〔美国〕比利·柯林斯　著 秦红梅　译

今晨漫步在湖边，

我爱上了一只鹪鹩。

后来又爱上一只

被猫丢弃在餐桌下的老鼠。

秋天朦胧的夜色里，

我爱上了一个女裁缝，

她依旧在橱窗内的机器旁忙碌。

后来我又爱上一碗肉汤，

热气缭绕犹如海战的烟雾。

我想，这是人世间最好的一种爱，

不图回报，不谋馈赠，

没有争吵，也无猜忌，

更没有电话里的无语凝噎。

我爱栗子，

爱爵士帽，爱单手驾车的惬意。

没有欲望，不会摔门而出。

我爱盆栽橘子树，

爱干净的白衬衫和夜晚的热水澡，

爱横穿佛罗里达的高速公路。

没有等待，没有怨恨，也没有暴怒，

只是会时不时地心生焦虑。

为那只鹪鹩，

把巢筑在悬于水面的低枝上。

为那只老鼠，

死时还穿着一身浅棕色外衣。

但我的心始终屹立在生命的支柱上，

准备迎接下一支箭镞。

我抓住老鼠的尾巴，

把它放进林中落叶堆里后，

发现自己站在盥洗池前

深情地注视着一块香皂。

它如此坚韧，却又易于溶解，

在淡绿色的香皂盒里是那么安适。

当感到它在我湿漉漉的手里滑动，

并捕捉到薰衣草和石料的味道，

我觉得自己再次坠入爱河。

Aimless Love

By Billy Collins

This morning as I walked along the lake shore，

I fell in love with a wren

and later in the day with a mouse

the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening，

I fell for a seamstress

still at her machine in the tailors window，

and later for a bowl of broth，

steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love， I thought，

without recompense， without gifts，

or unkind words， without suspicion，

or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut，

the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust， no slam of the door—

the love of the miniature orange tree，

the clean white shirt， the hot evening shower，

the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting， no huffiness， or rancor—

just a twinge now and then

For the wren who had built her nest

on a low branch overhanging the water.

and for the dead mouse，

still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always standing on its tripod，

ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail

to a pile of leaves in the woods，

I found myself standing at the bathroom sink

gazing down affectionately at the soap，

so patient and soluble，

so at home in its pale green soap dish.

I could feel myself falling again

as I felt its turning in my wet hands

and caught the scent of lavender and stone.