17_Touch Me

　　Touch Me
Touch Me is a soliloquy（独白）composed by Hank Miller¹, about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. also known as “The Wall”. This monument is one of the most visited sites in the city of Washington.
-----By Hank Miller
(California professional photographer, freelance writer, former Naval² Aviator³, and a Vietnam veteran)
Touch me. Don’t be afraid. I can’t hurt you. Go ahead and touch my smooth surface. Feel the cold, glass-like smoothness and the crevices⁴ and lines that make me what I am. Use both hands if you wish. We are more similar than you dare to believe.
Touch my face. Yes, I have a face like yours. It has weathered the centuries as yours has the years. My face portrays⁵ my evolution. Yours, the birth and death of a generation. My face has aged⁶ like yours as we have endured together the testimony⁷ of earth elements.
I have eyes like yours. My inscriptions⁸ stare out at you as I search for the meaning of why we are here. I look into your eyes and see who you are. Who am I? I was formed millions of years past and now you see the results of my evolution.
I can feel your hands and the sweat from your palms flow into the countless⁹ combination of the letters that make me. I know you. I have known you since I was able to breathe in the air as my smoothness began to take shape and my color matured along with natural flaws. You have known me since the days when you came to take me from my mother.
You cannot hear me. I am static and unmoving. But, I can hear your murmurs¹⁰ and your cries of pain and sadness. Your sons and daughters ask why? There are no answers. I am very old. I have seen everything and I am none the wiser for the pain and suffering and I have witnessed since I rose from the bowels¹¹ of the earth. I have witnessed the conflict, the death, the civilizations, and the societies that have come before you. Yet I remain mystified about this day.
I feel sad yet alive with a purpose. I have come to know those who are now an integral part of the reason for my being here at this place and time. That purpose has become apparent as I stand before you on this day while your brethren gather to witness my reflections and the changes of light that mirror your soul.
I am a reflection of you…
I am all of you…
I am your spirit..
I am The Wall.
抚摸我
抚摸我吧。别害怕。我不会伤害你，来吧，抚摸我光滑的皮肤。感觉玻璃般的冰冷与光滑，以及其中的裂缝和刮痕，感受我的存在。如果你愿意，请用双手抚摸吧。我们的相似之处将超越你的想象。
抚摸我的脸。没错，我有着和你一样的面孔。我的脸随着时代的变迁而风化，如同你的脸随着岁月的流逝而逐渐苍老。我的脸展示了我的世纪进程。你的，则描绘了一生的沧桑曲折。当我们一起忍受了尘世中风雨的考验时，脸上也被刻下了岁月的痕迹！
我有着和你一样的眼睛。我的碑铭注视着你，仿佛在寻找生命的意义。让我透过你的双眼看看你是谁。而我又是谁？我已生存了数百年，你看到的是我最终的演变。
我可以感觉到你的双手，汗水从手掌流入数不清的碑文的缝隙。我认得你。从我可以呼吸，从我开始成型，从我的色彩在风的侵袭下而越变浓烈时，我就认识你。你也早已认识我，当你带我离开母亲时。
你听不到我的声音，因为我是静止的。但我却听到了你的低声诉语，你的痛苦哀号。你的子女们问“为什么？”这没有答案。我已经老了。我看到了一切。但我承认面对自己所目睹的苦难沧桑我并不是一个智者。我目睹了战争、死亡、人类文明，还有你不曾经历的人类社会，但我至今依然困惑不解。
我感到悲伤，却清楚地感受到自己存在的目的。我渐渐了解那些刻在我身上的名字，是他们让我有了存在的理由。今天，当你们围聚在我身边，看那些名字在我身上的反射，而光线的变化也折射出你们的灵魂——我越发清楚我存在的目的。
我是你的映像……
我是你的全部……
我是你的灵魂……
我就是那面墙……

1 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 aviator   

n.飞行家，飞行员

参考例句：

• The young aviator bragged of his exploits in the sky.那名年轻的飞行员吹嘘他在空中飞行的英勇事迹。
• Hundreds of admirers besieged the famous aviator.数百名爱慕者围困那个著名飞行员。

4 crevices   

n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It has bedded into the deepest crevices of the store. 它已钻进了店里最隐避的隙缝。 来自辞典例句
• The wind whistled through the crevices in the rock. 风呼啸着吹过岩石的缝隙。 来自辞典例句

5 portrays   

v.画像( portray的第三人称单数 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The museum collection vividly portrays the heritage of 200 years of canals. 博物馆的藏品让运河200 年的历史再现眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The film portrays Gandhi as a kind of superman. 这部电影把甘地描绘成一个超人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

8 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

9 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

10 murmurs   

n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 )；低语声；怨言；嘀咕

参考例句：

• They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
• They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句

11 bowels   

n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处

参考例句：

• Salts is a medicine that causes movements of the bowels. 泻盐是一种促使肠子运动的药物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cabins are in the bowels of the ship. 舱房设在船腹内。 来自《简明英汉词典》