格麗克以詩集「野鳶尾」(The Wild Iris)於1993年獲普立茲詩歌獎,並於2014年以詩集「貞潔之夜」(Faithful and Virtuous Night)奪得國家圖書獎(National Book Award)。2015年,格麗克獲時任總統歐巴馬頒發國家人文獎章(National HumanitiesMedal)。
So much I loved you, though with words alone,
my fairest city, when your cloak was thrown
wide open to reveal your lilac charms;
much more was said by those who carried arms.
Yes, they were plentiful, our daily tears
and, streaming down, they salted our bread.
The voices of our dead rang in our ears,
the just, reproachful voices of our dead.
Upon the pavement of our streets they lay,
and I shall always, even unto my grave,
feel shame I was not with them on that day.
You gallant city, bravest of the brave,
eternally enshrined in mankind’s story:
前陣子讀 Joe Biden 自傳 Promises to Keep,
該書扉頁即題寫著詩人羅伯特•弗羅斯特《雪夜林畔淹留》(Robert Frost - Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening)一詩的最後一段:
雪林幽深且銷魂,
然吾一諾值千金,
未眠夜路尚待行,
未眠夜路尚待行。
(
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
)
至少看來,該候選人似要比脫口秀總統,更重 文采詩情,也更看重 誠信守諾…
樓主介紹中所附的紫羅蘭一詩,英語原文如下:
Violets
Louise Glück
Because in our world
something is always hidden,
small and white,
small and what you call
pure, we do not grieve
as you grieve, dear
suffering master; you
are no more lost
than we are, under
the hawthorn tree, the hawthorn holding
balanced trays of pearls: what
has brought you among us
who would teach you, though
you kneel and weep,
clasping your great hands,
in all your greatness knowing
nothing of the soul’s nature,
which is never to die: poor sad god,
either you never have one
or you never lose one.
《The Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert(Jaroslav Seifert)》《The Complete Poems(Robert Frost)》《Roads Not Taken(Robert Frost)》《Roads Not Taken(Robert Frost)》《Poems, 1962-2012(Louise Glück)》等英文詩集都可從 libgen.lc 搜到並下載。《Poems, 1962-2012 by Louise Glück》這個詩集總匯包含了「The Wild Iris」,下載連結:https://libgen.lc/item/index.php?md5=C9D5BF306E87D76B56339A9959E193FB