AN INTERNATIONAL POETRY JOURNAL IN ENGLISH & CHINESE
Winter 2014-15 | Issue 7
Born in Novosibirsk, S. Central Russia, in 1939,Vyacheslav Kupriyanov studied technical sciences in the High Navy School of Leningrad, and earned a degree in mathematical linguistics and German at the Moscow Foreign Language Institute (now Linguistic Univ.). His first published works were translations of German poetry by Hölderlin, Novalis, Rilke, Brecht, Grass, Enzensberger, and others. He also translated English language poetry by Whitman and Sandburg. His own poetry collections include First Person; Life Goes On; Homework; Echo; Poems; The Best Time; and Ode to Time. Notably, his initial book of poetry was the first free-verse collection in postwar Russia. He has published numerous short stories, and a novel, The Shoe of Empedocles. His work has been rendered in at least eight languages, including a poetry collection in English translated by Francis Jones, In Anyone’s Tongue, from which these Pangolin House selections have been drawn. In Mandarin, some of his poetry has previously been rendered by Wang Jianzhao. Among Vyacheslav Kupriyanov’s honors are the Südwestfunk-Bestenliste Prize, the Library of European Literature Award, and the Branko-Radicevic Prize. A member of the Moscow Writers’ Union and the Serbian Writers’ Union, he is currently a freelance writer in Moscow.
俄羅斯詩人維雅切斯拉夫·庫普里揚諾夫1939年出生於新西伯利亞，曾就讀於列寧格勒高等海軍學校，1967年畢業於莫斯科外語學院（現為莫斯科語言大學）語言學及德語專業。早年作為詩歌翻譯為讀者熟知，譯有荷爾德林、諾瓦利斯、里爾克、布萊希特、格拉斯、恩岑斯貝格等德語詩人的作品，也譯介過英語詩人惠特曼和桑德堡。迄今出版個人詩集十餘種，主要有《第一人稱》、《家庭作業》、《回聲》、《詩篇》、《最好的時光》、《時間頌》等，1982年的詩集《生活在繼續》為俄羅斯二戰後出版的第一部自由體詩集。此外，他還著有多篇短篇小說和一部長篇小說《恩培多克勒的鞋》。他的作品被譯成德語、保加利亞語、波蘭語、荷蘭語、泰米爾語等多種語言在國外發表出版。本期《穿山甲》所選詩歌譯自Francis R. Jones翻譯的英文詩集《任意一種語言》。中文曾有汪劍釗先生的譯介。庫氏獲得過多項國際文學獎，包括Südwestfunk- Bestenliste獎、歐洲文學圖書館獎、布蘭科·拉蒂切維奇獎等。現為莫斯科作家協會和塞爾維亞作家協會會員，居於莫斯科，專事寫作。
FACE
Into my face
I have taken the faces
of everyone I love
who can say
I’m ugly
臉
我的臉上
刻著所有
我愛的人的臉
誰能說
我醜？
THIRST
Childhood
well of timelessness
Youth
well of futurity
Maturity
well of childhood
Age
gulp of water
渴
童年
永恒之井
青春
未來之井
成年
兒時之井
晚年
一飲而盡
SINGING LESSON
Man
invented the cage
before
inventing wings
In cages
the winged sing
of the freedom
of flight
Before the cages
the wingless sing
of the justice
of cages
聲樂課
人
發明籠子
而後
發明翅膀
有翅膀的
在籠子裏
歌唱自由
和飛翔
沒翅膀的
對著籠子
歌唱它的
正確性
TWILIGHT OF VANITY
Every night
the dead man
lifts the slab
to feel with his fingers
whether the name on the stone
has worn away
虛榮的黃昏
每天夜裏
那個死人都會
掀開石板
用手指去摸摸
他墓碑上的名字
是否還在
BLIND
Breughel’s blind
tumble after each other into the pit
Brezhnev’s blind
stop themselves toppling
by standing still
and clutching at each other
Stalin’s blind
dig each other the pit
Lenin’s blind
stand in line
to see him
瞎子
布勒哲爾的瞎子
相繼跌到坑裏
勃列日涅夫的瞎子
紋絲不動站著
牢牢抓住彼此
以免摔倒
斯大林的瞎子
互相挖坑
列寧的瞎子
排成一隊
為了見他
The paper lie
is yellowing with time
Gunbarrels
coshes
prison bars
have branded on it
their black shadows
And so from the darkest
jungles of history
forming in broad daylight
appears a paper tiger—
a maneater
紙上謊言
隨時間泛黃
槍筒
警棍
冰冷的鐵條
已把各自的陰影
烙在上面
黑森森的歷史叢林
在光天化日下
接連聳起，突然
躍出一只紙老虎——
它吃人
HEAVEN ON EARTH
The ancient temples are aging
their services have served their time
the hour has come
to save their hymnal empire
within us
The images are fading
from the age-old icons
may their light be preserved
on our present-day faces
Time erodes
the Saviour’s features from the frescoes—
it is time
our own features
became more lifelike and clear
大地上的天堂
古老的寺廟在凋敝
儀式均已完成
時辰到了
請將那讚美詩的王國
留在我們體內
久遠的聖像上
顏色在消褪
願它們的光保存
在我們如今的臉上
時間風蝕
壁畫上救世主的形象
是時候
讓我們自己的容貌
更加生動，明亮
INVITATION
You are hereby invited
to the unveiling of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.
The monument’s design is unpretentious: a bare
plinth. The Coward himself
can hide with confidence
amongst the guests
without fear
of being discovered.
You will hear many unknown things:
as it is unknown
what the Coward had to fear,
only the unknown
will be spoken of.
The speeches will stress that,
thanks to the cowardice of one who was unknown,
the known
could live free from fear.
You are hereby invited to the unveiling
of a monument
to the Unknown
Coward.
Attend
or else!
請柬
特邀您參加
一座紀念碑的揭幕式
是為紀念
無名懦夫。
碑的設計毫不造作：一個光禿的
基座。懦夫本人
可安全藏身
在賓客之間
無需懼怕
被發現。
您將聽到眾多無名事跡：
正如懦夫所懼怕之物
無名，
只能談論
無名。
發言將著重
感謝一位無名者的懦弱，
有名之士
從此不用擔驚受怕。
特邀您參加
一座紀念碑的揭幕式
是為紀念
無名懦夫。
出席！
否則——
CREATIVITY
Creating a lyric
in the age of the epic
creating a tragedy
in the age of the ode
creating a man
in the age of mankind
creating good
in the age of do-gooders
creating one’s own
in the age of ownership
creating the strange
in the age of the calculated
creating
in the age of the created
amid permitted miracles
forever creating—
this prohibited
miracle
創造力
創造一首抒情詩
在史詩的時代
創造一部悲劇
在頌歌的時代
創造一個人
在人性的時代
創造善
在盲目行善的時代
創造為己所有
在所有制的時代
創造陌生
在確切的時代
創造
在被創造的時代
在被許可的奇蹟中
恒久創造——
這違禁的
奇蹟
METAPHOR
The days fly past
The nights
are attics
where they store
their wings
隱喻
白日飛逝
夜的閣樓
藏起
它們的
羽翼
HUMAN INJUSTICE
Two hands
to feed
many mouths
and many hands
to gag
a single mouth
A single rib
to make
a woman
and twenty-four ribs
to cage
a heart
Thirty-two teeth
waiting to bite off
a tongue
struggling to find
a universal tongue
for a humankind
armed
to the teeth
人類的不公
兩隻手
喂養
多張嘴
多隻手
塞住
一張嘴
一根肋骨
生出
一個女人
二十四根肋骨
囚住
一顆心
三十二顆牙齒
等待咬斷
一根舌頭
它試圖
為武裝到牙齒的
人類
發明
同一根舌頭
APPEAL
yellow
black
white
this blood of all of us
is just red
stop
the tests
控訴
黃的
黑的
白的
我們身上這血
都是
紅的
請停止
檢驗
IN A STRANGE TOWN
If they were to name a street after me
I wouldn’t object
may it have my habit
of wandering late into blind alleys
just one thing would upset me
that in this street
would live
blind men
If they were to name a man after me
I wouldn’t object
may he have my hope
of seeing a friend in every passer-by
just one thing would upset me
that his man
would have a dog
If they were to name a dog after me
I wouldn’t object
may it have my eyes
where men and blind alleys meet
just one thing would upset me
that this dog
would have a master
在一座陌生的小鎮
如果他們要用我的名字命名一條街道
我不會反對
願它保留我的習慣——
在深夜裏迷路，誤入沒有出口的巷子
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這條街上
住著
沒有出路的人
如果他們要用我的名字命名一個人
我不會反對
願他保留我的期盼——
在每一位路人身上發現朋友的影子
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這個人
有一隻狗陪伴
如果他們要用我們的名字命名一條狗
我不會反對
願牠保留我的雙眼——
在那裏，人遭遇巷子的盡頭
只有一件事會令我不安
便是這條狗
已經有了主人
GOLDEN-HEARTED MAN
His acquaintances
wished him well.
The unacquainted
wished to make
his acquaintance.
Day and night
businesslike men with shovels
tramp past him
and stare at him
accusingly.
The businesslike men with shovels
have a twofold
task:
to bury him
in public
and exhume him
in secret.
In his heart
they suspect
gold
dust.
金心人
認識他的人
祝福他。
不認識他的人
希望與他
結識。
日以繼夜
精明的人拎著鐵鍬
從他身邊走過
步伐粗重
眼神充滿責難。
精明的人手持鐵鍬
肩負雙重
使命：
將他公開
埋葬
然後秘密
挖掘。
人們猜測
他的心
裝有
金粉。
LULL
The silence has
two broken strings:
the last sunbeam,
dropped in the setting,
and the wind,
no longer
winged.
暫息
寂靜有
兩根斷弦：
落日松開
最後一縷陽光，
風，
收起
翅膀。
RELATIVITY
Whatever I live through
I will still be left
with what
I will not live through
Whatever I lose
I will always be left
with what
will never be found
In endless questing
in endless disquiet
what spaces still
will I not overcome
in the time
I do not have
相對性
不管我經歷過什麼
餘下的
將依舊是
我無從經歷的
不管我失去了什麼
餘下的
將永遠是
再也找不回來的
無止境的尋求
無止境的焦灼
此中
還有什麼空間
我不能克服？
這時間
非我所有
