《学习阅读》 by 弗兰兹.赖特

           弗兰兹.赖特 

 

如果每看五六个单词我就要翻字典，

那又怎样。我查找。

反正我无处可去。 
 

见不到父亲，我母亲

像将要爆发，

不是开成花朵，每当我说话。
 

我最爱读伊利亚特。是的。

我不能准确发音，

但我什么时候要发音， 
 

给谁？

难道是我的继父？

首先，他几乎不会说英语； 
 

其次他完全可能

嘲笑或打我

即使我没有触怒他。 
 

孤独，苦闷和恐惧

我的动机

火上浇油 
 

我跪在地上因为他们感谢上帝。

杜甫，赞美诗，惠特曼，里尔克。

生活已经教会了我。

 

.    （ 林木译）

 

Learning To Read — by Franz Wright 

 

If I had tolook up every fifth or sixth word,

so what. I looked them up.

I had nowhere important to be. 
 

My fatherwas unavailable, and my mother

looked like she was about to break,

and not into blossom, every time I spoke. 
 

My favoritewas the Iliad. True,

I had trouble pronouncing the names,

but when was I going to pronounce them, and 
 

to whom? 
My stepfather maybe?

Number one, he could barely speak English;

 

two, he had sufficient intent

to smirk or knock me down

without any prompting from me. 
 

Loneliness, boredom and terror

my motivation

fiercely fuelled. 
 

I get down on my knees and thank God for them. 
Du Fu, the Psalms, Whitman, Rilke.

Life has taught me.