four portraits

There's Arnold
Arnold
With his back to me
他背對著我
Wandering down through an ill-lit street
徘徊在昏暗的街道裡
I'm curious
我如此好奇
And would like to entreat
懇求知曉
Is it inspiration or self-defeat
是靈感還是自我挫敗
And from the corner his figure fades
在角落裡他的身影逐漸消失
And should I follow or retrograde
我該追逐又或是倒退
There's Anton
Anton
With a furrowed brow
皺了皺眉
A crooked finger and non-plussed scowl
彎曲著手指滿面愁容
There's symmetry
對稱美的一切
He will soon endow
他豁然開朗的賦予
Crafting tone rows with his head faced down
低眉繪製音列
If I seek pleasure in melody
如果我在旋律中尋歡
Have I betrayed best tendencies
是否就背離了最優的方向
Oh Alban
哦Alban
We part our hair the same
我們有同款髮型
Posing next to a drawer and frame
分別在抽屜旁和框架裡
At 23 and two years of age
23歲的我與兩歲的你
Your work is tasteful your life's urbane
你的工作生活是如此的優雅品味
As for the despot's who bring you down
至於那些擊垮你的暴君
A century later they're still around
一個世紀後他們還在這世界裡
And so I sit by the window sill
而我就坐在這窗台邊
Feeling sad, the questions linger still
憤懣不已疑惑難解
I'm trying to decide if it's fake or real
嘗試分辨真實與虛幻
I 'm all alone
我孤自一人
In a noisy throng
在喧鬧的人群中
Nameless and ageless, all strung along
無名與不朽都是愚笑
Nobody else can name this song
沒有人能言出歌的名字
Mispronunciations and words spelled wrong
讀音和單詞拼寫皆有誤
At times like these I think I'm on my own
如此這般思索獨自努力
A new self-portrait of my own
擁有屬於自己的新的自畫像