英语诗歌:Digging

Seamus Heaney

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat¹ pen rests; as snug² as a gun.

Under my window a clean rasping sound

When the spade sinks into gravelly ground:

My father, digging. I look down

Till his straining rump among the flowerbeds

Bends low, comes up twenty years away

Stooping in rhythm through potato drills

Where he was digging.

The coarse boot nestled on the lug³, the shaft⁴

Against the inside knee was levered firmly.

He rooted out tall tops, buried the bright edge deep

To scatter⁵ new potatoes that we picked

Loving their cool hardness in our hands.

By God, the old man could handle a spade,

Just like his old man.

My grandfather could cut more turf in a day

Than any other man on Toner's bog⁶.

Once I carried him milk in a bottle

Corked⁷ sloppily⁸ with paper. He straightened up

To drink it, then fell to right away

Nicking and slicing neatly⁹, heaving sods

Over his shoulder, digging down and down

For the good turf. Digging.

The cold smell of potato mold, the squelch¹⁰ and slap

Of soggy peat, the curt¹¹ cuts of an edge

Through living roots awaken¹² in my head.

But I've no spade to follow men like them.

Between my finger and my thumb

The squat pen rests.

I'll dig with it.

挖掘

在我手指和大拇指中间

一支粗壮的笔躺着，舒适自在像一支枪。

我的窗下，一个清晰而粗厉的响声

铁铲切进了砾石累累的土地：

我爹在挖土。我向下望

看到花坪间他正使劲的臀部

弯下去，伸上来，二十年来

穿过白薯垄有节奏地俯仰着，

他在挖土。

粗劣的靴子踩在铁铲上，长柄

贴着膝头的内侧有力地撬动，

他把表面一层厚土连根掀起，

把铁铲发亮的一边深深埋下去，

使新薯四散，我们捡在手中，

爱它们又凉又硬的味儿。

说真的，这老头子使铁铲的巧劲

就像他那老头子一样。

我爷爷的土纳的泥沼地

一天挖的泥炭比谁个都多。

有一次我给他送去一瓶牛奶，

用纸团松松地塞住瓶口。他直起腰喝了，马上又干开了，

利索地把泥炭截短，切开，把土．

撩过肩，为找好泥炭，

一直向下，向下挖掘。

白薯地的冷气，潮湿泥炭地的

咯吱声、咕咕声，铁铲切进活薯根的短促声响

在我头脑中回荡。

但我可没有铁铲像他们那样去干。

在我手指和大拇指中间

那支粗壮的笔躺着。

我要用它去挖掘。

1 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

2 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

3 lug   

n.柄，突出部，螺帽；(英）耳朵；（俚）笨蛋；vt.拖，拉，用力拖动

参考例句：

• Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes.谁都不想拖着个装满衣服的大箱子到处走。
• Do I have to lug those suitcases all the way to the station?难道非要我把那些手提箱一直拉到车站去吗？

4 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

5 scatter   

vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散

参考例句：

• You pile everything up and scatter things around.你把东西乱堆乱放。
• Small villages scatter at the foot of the mountain.村庄零零落落地散布在山脚下。

6 bog   

n.沼泽；室...陷入泥淖

参考例句：

• We were able to pass him a rope before the bog sucked him under.我们终于得以在沼泽把他吞没前把绳子扔给他。
• The path goes across an area of bog.这条小路穿过一片沼泽。

7 corked   

adj.带木塞气味的，塞着瓶塞的v.用瓶塞塞住( cork的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Our army completely surrounded and corked up the enemy stronghold. 我军把敌人的堡垒完全包围并封锁起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He kept his emotions corked up inside him. 他把感情深藏于内心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 sloppily   

adv.马虎地，草率地

参考例句：

• Do things neatly, not sloppily. 办事要利落，不要拖泥带水。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Land market after behind-the-scenes plotting concern: how much land can act sloppily? 关注土地市场重重黑幕：有多少土地可以胡来？ 来自互联网

9 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

10 squelch   

v.压制，镇压；发吧唧声

参考例句：

• The President wants to squelch any perception that the meeting is an attempt to negotiate.总统想要消除任何视本次会议为谈判尝试的看法。
• You cannot squelch wanting.你不能压制要求。

11 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

12 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。