A Dream By Christina Rossetti

Hear now a curious dream I dreamed last night
懇請你聆聽昨夜我的奇異夢境
Each word whereof is weighed and sifted truth.
我必字斟句酌絕無輕言戲語
I stood beside Euphrates while it swelled
幼發拉底潮漲之時我佇立於旁
Like overflowing Jordan in its youth:
像年輕的約旦河它湧動著
It waxed and coloured sensibly to sight;
給自己塗蠟上色以致顯明易見
Till out of myriad pregnant waves there welled
直到從無盡懷胎的浪潮中噴湧而出
Young crocodiles, a gaunt blunt-featured crew,
年輕的鱷魚群瘦削又遲鈍的列隊
Fresh-hatched perhaps and daubed with birthday dew.
或許剛獲新生還留有降生時露水的痕跡
The rest if I should tell, I fear my friend
而我將接著敘述的恐怕我的朋友
My closest friend would deem the facts untrue;
我最最親愛的朋友也會以為我在胡言亂語
And therefore it were wisely left untold;
而接下來的話語也將會湮沒於我的沉默之中
Yet if you will, why, hear it to the end.
但若是若是你願意聆聽！有何不可？ 何不聽到最後
Each crocodile was girt with massive gold
每隻鱷魚都佩戴著黃金巨大的黃金腰帶
And polished stones that with their wearers grew:
還有打磨光滑的石頭它們（石頭與黃金）與佩戴者一起成長
But one there was who waxed beyond the rest,
但在那之中有著一隻與眾不同
Wore kinglier girdle and a kingly crown,
他身著更加華麗的腰帶戴著一頂屬於國王的皇冠
Whilst crowns and orbs and sceptres starred his breast.
皇冠、珠寶和權杖如星辰般閃耀在它胸前
All gleamed compact and green with scale on scale,
反射在緊實而蒼綠的鱗片上光影迷濛
But special burnishment adorned his mail
而他的信函經特殊打磨拋光裝飾
And special terror weighed upon his frown;
他的蹙額有著奇異的威懾
His punier brethren quaked before his tail,
他孱弱的同族在他的尾前戰栗不已
Broad as a rafter, potent as a flail.
脊背寬廣如椽條擺尾剛勁如連枷
So he grew lord and master of his kin:
所以他是王是神是一族之長
But who shall tell the tale of alltheir woes?
但誰又能言說同族們所有蘊藏悲哀的故事：
An execrable appetite arose,
一股骯髒可恨的食慾襲來
He battened on them, crunched, and sucked them in.
他飼養他的族人而後又嚼碎吞吃掉它們吮幹抹淨
He knew no law, he feared no binding law,
他不知法為何物沒有法律可以約束他
But ground them with inexorable jaw:
反而用無情的下顎阻擋埋葬一切
The luscious fat distilled upon his chin,
美味可口的脂肪順著他的下頜滴落
Exuded from his nostrils and his eyes,
再從他的鼻孔和眼睛分泌出去
While still like hungry death he fed his maw;
然而飢餓使他發狂
Till every minor crocodile being dead
填滿那無底洞般的胃直到所有下等鱷魚都已死去
And buried too, himself gorged to the full,
且埋葬；他狼吞虎咽飽腹一餐
He slept with breath oppressed and unstrung claw.
帶著壓抑的呼吸和不安分的爪子睡去
Oh marvel passing strange which next I saw:
噢我看到奇事卻接著發生
In sleep he dwindled to the common size,
在睡夢中他縮成了普通大小
And all the empire faded from his coat.
一切君王的象徵從他的外套上褪色消逝
Then from far off a wingèd vessel came,
而一艘帶有雙翼的船舶來臨
Swift as a swallow, subtle as a flame:
迅捷如輕燕精巧如火花
I know not what it bore of freight or host,
我並不知曉它是厭倦了貨物還是無聊的主人
But white it was as an avenging ghost.
但它蒼白如復仇的鬼魂
It levelled strong Euphrates in its course;
來路它喚起洶湧的幼發拉底
Supreme yet weightless as an idle mote
至高無上卻又輕如塵埃
It seemed to tame the waters without force
它卻似乎馴服這波濤不費氣力
Till not a murmur swelled or billow beat:
水花逐漸安靜浪潮停止翻騰
Lo, as the purple shadow swept the sands,
看哪！紫色暗影蔓延過群沙
The prudent crocodile rose on his feet
這精明狡猾的鱷魚站起身來
And shed appropriate tears and wrung his hands.
恰到好處地掉下眼淚悲痛得使勁絞扭自己的雙手
What can it mean? you ask. I answer not
那是什麼意思？你問道。我無法回答它的含義
For meaning, but myself must echo,
但它會在我耳邊反復回響。何物？何物？
And tell it as I saw it on the spot
我僅會如實陳述 一如我當場親眼所見