不必怀抱慈善奢望

埃莉诺·怀利

不必怀抱慈善奢望
不必随意比附形象
我的性格天生如此
既非鹰隼也非羚羊

孤孤单单降生世上
身为女人饱经风霜
石头缝里艰难挤出
只靠吸收点滴营养

年复一年岁月悠长
可恶可怕假面伪装
唯有一笑面对一切
心绪坦然何须慌张

Let No Charitable Hope

by Elinor Wylie

Now let no charitable hope
Confuse my mind with images
Of eagle and of antelope:
I am by nature none of these.

I was, being human, born alone;
I am, being woman, hard beset;
I live by squeezing from a stone
What little nourishment I get.

In masks outrageous and austere
The years go by in single file;
But none has merited my fear,
And none has quite escaped my smile.