A Woman Homer Sung

荷马所歌颂的女人

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝(William Butler Yeats)(1865～1939)，亦译“叶慈”、“耶茨”，爱尔兰诗人、剧作家，著名的神秘主义者，是“爱尔兰文艺复兴运动”的领袖，也是艾比剧院(Abbey Theatre)的创建者之一，被诗人艾略特誉为"当代最伟大的诗人"。叶芝对戏剧也有浓厚的兴趣，先后写过26部剧本。

If any man drew near

When I was young,

I thought, “He holds her dear,”

And shook with hate and fear.

But O! ’twas bitter wrong

If he could pass her by

With an indifferent eye.

我年轻的时候，

假如有哪个男人走近，

我就想：“他钟情于她，”

于是又恨又怕直发抖。

可是哟!如果他无动于衷

从她身边走过，

那就大错特错。

Whereon I wrote and wrought,

And now, being grey,

I dream that I have brought

To such a pitch my thought

That coming time can say,

“He shadowed in a glass

What thing her body was.”

For she had fiery blood

于是我写呀作呀，

如今，鬓发斑白，

我梦想我已把我的思想,

发展到如此高度，

以至于未来可以说：

“他在一面镜子里

描绘了她的身姿。”

When I was young,

And trod so sweetly proud

As ’twere upon a cloud,

A woman Homer sung,

That life and letters seem

But an heroic dream.

因为我年轻的时候，

她有着如火的热血，

步态那么美妙而骄傲

就仿佛踩在云彩上，

是荷马歌颂的一个女人，

以至于生命和文字都显得

不过是一场英雄的梦。