蛇

A snake came to my water-trough

On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,

To drink there.

In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob tree

I came down the steps with my pitcher

And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me.

He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom

And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over the edge of the stone trough

And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,

And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness,

He sipped with his straight mouth,

Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,

Silently.

Someone was before me at my water-trough,

And I, like a second-comer, waiting.

He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do,

And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,

And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,

And stooped and drank a little more,

Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earth

On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.

The voice of my education said to me

He must be killed,

For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous.

And voices in me said, If you were a man

You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.

But must I confess how I liked him,

How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough

And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless,

Into the burning bowels of this earth?

Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?

Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?

Was it humility, to feel honoured?

I felt so honoured.

And yet those voices:

If you were not afraid you would kill him.

And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid,

But even so, honoured still more

That he should seek my hospitality

From out the dark door of the secret earth.

He drank enough

And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken,

And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so black,

Seeming to lick his lips,

And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air,

And slowly turned his head,

And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream,

Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round

And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face.

And as he put his head into that dreadful hole,

And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and entered further,

A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole,

Deliberately going into the blackness, and slowly drawing himself after,

Overcame me now his back was turned.

I looked round, I put down my pitcher,

I picked up a clumsy log

And threw it at the water-trough with a clatter.

I think it did not hit him,

But suddenly that part of him that was left behind convulsed in undignified haste,

Writhed like lightning, and was gone

Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front,

At which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination.

And immediately I regretted it.

I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!

I despised myself and the voices of my accursèd human education.

And I thought of the albatross,

And I wished he would come back, my snake.

For he seemed to me again like a king,

Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,

Now due to be crowned again.

And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords

Of life.

And I have something to expiate:

A pettiness. ^[1] 

氣候炎熱，我穿着睡衣，

一條蛇爬向我的水槽，

前去喝水。

在巨大的黑色角豆樹的氣味奇特的濃蔭裏，

我提着大水罐走下台階，

必須等待，必須站住等待，因為他呆在我眼前

的水槽邊。

他從暗處土牆的裂縫中爬下，

拖曳着黃褐色的鬆弛的軟肚子，來到石頭水

槽的邊緣，

把喉嚨搭在石槽底部休息。

那兒，水從龍頭一點一點地清楚地滴下，

他用筆直的嘴啜飲着，

喝下的水通過筆直的牙牀，舒暢地流入鬆弛

的長長軀體，

靜靜地流入。

別人超前到了我的水槽，

我呀，像後來的人，等待着。

他從水槽抬起頭來，就像一頭牲口，

呆滯地盯着我，就像一頭喝水的牲口，

從嘴裏輕輕地彈出雙叉舌頭，沉思了一會兒

又俯身去喝了一點，

在這個西西里的七月的日子，當艾特納火山

仍舊冒煙之時，

他像土地一樣發褐，像土地一樣金黃，

就像一條從大地的軀體中冒出來的燃燒的大腸。

我所受的教育發出聲音，對我説：

必須處死他，

因為在西西里，黑色的蛇是清白的，金色的

蛇是有毒的。

我身上的聲音説，假若你是個男子漢，

你就該抓起棍棒，把他打斷，把他打死。

但我必須承認，我非常喜歡他，

我格外高興地看到他安靜地來到這兒作客，

在我的水槽裏喝水，然後平靜地、温和地離開，

用不着道謝，回到大地軀體內其它燃燒的大腸中間。

是否出於懦弱，我不敢把他殺死？

是否出於墮落，我盼望與他交談？

是否一種羞辱，我竟感到光榮？

我感到如此光榮。

然而，又傳出了聲音：

“假若你不害怕，你就得把他處死！”

的確，我感到害怕，感到非常害怕，

即使如此，我更感到光榮，

因為他能從秘密大地的黑暗的門中走出，

前來尋求我的好客之情。

他喝足了，

神情恍惚地昂起頭來，就像一名醉漢，

並且在空中搖動着他那像有叉的黑夜一樣的舌頭，

似乎在舔着嘴唇，

接着像視而不見的神，環顧空中，

慢悠悠地轉動腦袋，

慢悠悠地，慢悠悠地，彷彿耽於夢幻之中，

開始拖曳長長的、繞成曲線的軀體，

又爬上了破裂的牆面。

當他把腦袋伸進那可怕的洞穴，

當他慢慢地停住，放鬆肩膀，再繼續進洞，

當他撤進那可怕的黑洞，不慌不忙地進入黑暗，

慢慢地把身子拖進去，

一種恐怖，一種對他這種行為的反抗，

佔據了我的心身，可他對我不予理睬。

我環視四周，我放下水罐，

我撿起笨重的木頭，

啪地一聲砸向水槽。

我想我沒有砸中他，

但是，他留在後面倉促地擺動着的部位

突然閃電般地蠕動了一下，

進入了黑洞，進入了牆面上的裂縫，

我帶着迷戀凝視着黑洞，在這個酷熱的寧靜的中午。

我立刻感到懊悔。

我想到我的行動是多麼粗暴，多麼卑鄙！

我憎恨我自己，憎恨可惡的人類教育的聲音。

我回想起了信天翁的故事。

我希望他能夠回來，我的蛇呀。

因為我又覺得他像一個皇帝，

像一個流放中的皇帝，廢黜到了地獄，

他一定會馬上重新戴上皇冠。

於是，我失去了一次與人生的君主

交往的機會。

我必將受到懲罰，

因為自己的卑劣。

（吳笛譯） ^[2] 

詩集《鳥·獸·花》用隱喻和象徵的手法描述和反映動植物的生活，藉此表達自己的心思，觀念，情感。《蛇》便是以蛇和人類的行為為隱喻而創作的。 ^[2] 

詩人在敍述蛇的汲水過程時是滿懷感情的。在他的筆下，蛇不再是狡詐，陰險的撒旦的化身，蛇有人性。從喝水的姿態中我們看到了蛇的平靜、温柔：“把喉嚨搭在石槽底部休息，/那兒，水從龍頭一點一點地清楚地滴下，/他那筆直的嘴啜飲着，/喝下的水通過筆直的牙牀，舒暢地流入鬆弛的長長軀體，/靜靜地流入。“對於蛇來説，它安詳地享受着大自然的饋贈，作為自然的一分子，它喝得理直氣壯，並沒有因為人的到來而驚慌失措。蛇汲水時的畫面是温暖人心的。從人的視角看，它獲得了其他物種的信任；從蛇的視角看，它理所當然應同其他生靈平起平坐。為營造這種和諧的氛圍，詩人對主人公的穿着打扮，內心世界以及周圍環境有詳細的描寫：“氣候炎熱，我穿着睡衣。“當主人公穿着“睡衣”出現在一條蛇的面前時，他是慵懶的，毫無防範之心與攻擊之意。主人公的內心世界很平靜，甚至帶着欣賞的姿態觀看這條蛇的汲水過程。蛇與人已經建立起互相信任的關係。就連環境也沒有發出任何“危險”的訊息：“在巨大的黑色角豆樹的氣味奇特的濃蔭裏”。蛇與人共同享受大自然的饋贈，同樣擁有生存的權利。

然而，人類的心思改變了，他們拒絕平等，他們要成為自然絕對的主宰。勞倫斯沒有明確的答案，只是含糊地暗示，是人類的教育阻止他進一步施捨對蛇的關愛。“必須處死他”，這是一種權威的聲音， “科學”指導我們的行動，甚至統治我們的思想。此外，還有植根於主人公身上的傳統與習慣的力量。我們已經習慣於遵從傳統，傳統的力量融入血液、變成集體無意識，我們生活在人羣中便要遵從羣體的意志。有時，反思會讓主人公迷惑：“是否出於懦弱，我不敢把他殺死？/是否出於墮落，我盼望與他交談？/是否一種羞辱，我竟感到光榮？”儘管如此，個體意志還是無法與羣體意志抗衡，集體無意識指導着他的生活方式，個人習慣乃至思想意識。最終，人對另一種生靈痛下毒手，也許因為恐懼，也許毫無緣由，那一刻，蛇是毫無察覺的。勞倫斯對這一瞬間蛇的神態的描寫也是意味深長的：它“神情恍惚地昂起頭來，就像一名醉漢”，“接着像視而不見的神，環顧空中，/慢悠悠地轉動腦袋，/慢悠悠地，慢悠悠地，彷彿耽於夢幻之中”。這種悠然的神情更加劇了人的罪惡感，蛇儘管是“從大地的軀體中冒出來的燃燒的大腸”，可也是同讀者一樣的自然的生靈。主人公的內心矛盾而恐懼，因為蛇不但有蛇性、人性，還有神性：“我又覺得他像一個皇帝，/像一個流放中的皇帝，廢黜到了地獄，/他一定會馬上重新戴上皇冠。“這條蛇象徵一種神秘力量，對於人性、神性的探討此刻達到了深處。於是，“混合起來的擔憂，歡欣、迷惑，驚恐、崇敬不僅引向了這種蛇類，而且也引向了交織在詩中的黑暗、死亡、下界，愛情、神性的聯繫和內涵”。

勞倫斯用詩人的眼睛敏感地捕捉每一個觸動人心的瞬間，並用細膩的筆法加以描繪，就如一個老道的畫家，他總能恰到好處地集中讀者的注意力，開啓讀者的心靈。 ^[2] 

戴維·赫伯特·勞倫斯（David Herbert Lawrence，1885～1930），英國詩人、小説家、散文家。出生於礦工家庭，當過屠户會計、廠商僱員和小學教師，曾在國內外漂泊十多年，對現實抱批判否定態度。他寫過詩，但主要寫長篇小説，共有10部，代表作有《虹》（1915）、《愛戀中的女人》（1921）和《查太萊夫人的情人》（1928）。 ^[3]