英语诗歌：两幅母亲肖像前

 　　Before Two Portraits of My Mother

　　I love the beautiful young girl of this

　　portrait, my mother, painted years ago

　　when her forehead was white, and there was no

　　shadow in the dazzling¹ Venetian glass

　　of her gaze². But this other likeness³ shows

　　the deep trenches⁵ across her forehead's white

　　marble. The rose poem of her youth that

　　her marriage sang is far behind. Here is

　　my sadness: I compare these portraits, one

　　of a joy-radiant brow⁶, the other care-

　　heavy: sunrise—and the thick coming on

　　of night. And yet how strange my ways appear,

　　for when I look at these faded lips my heart

　　smiles, but at the smiling girl my tears start.

　　—Emile Nelligan (1879-1941)

　　我深爱这名美丽少女的

　　画像，她是我的母亲，绘制于多年前

　　当时她的前额白皙无瑕

　　如同威尼斯玻璃般闪亮，没有一丝阴影

　　在她双眸中。但另一幅肖像显出

　　深深的纹痕布满她皎白大理石般平滑的前额

　　她少女时的那

　　首玫瑰情诗

　　曾在她婚礼中被咏唱，如今已经远去。

　　此时我心悲伤：比较这两幅肖像，一幅显得

　　神情愉悦，另一幅显得心事

　　重重：一幅如同朝阳初升——另一幅则如迎面而来的阴郁

　　黑夜。然而我的反应却显得非比寻常，

　　因为当我看着她失去光泽的双唇，我心

　　发出微笑，但看着那名微笑的少女，我的泪竟开始涌出。

　　—艾米里·奈利根 (1879-1941)

　　Vocabulary

　　● 1. portrait n. a painting, photograph, or drawing of sb. 画像；肖像

　　It took only thirty minutes for the artist in the park to draw a portrait of Jerome.

　　公园里的画家只花了30分钟，就完成了杰罗姆的画像。

　　2. marble n. a kind of smooth, light-colored stone; usually used for statues or floors 大理石

　　Nearly all of the surviving ancient Greek and Roman statues are made of marble.

　　几乎所有保存至今的古希腊和古罗马雕像都是由大理石雕刻的。

　　● 3. fade v. to become less bright 失去光泽；褪色

　　As the years went by, the deep blue color of Mary's favorite pair of jeans faded.

　　随着时光流逝，玛丽最喜欢的那件深蓝色牛仔裤已褪了色。

　　More Information

　　1. dazzling adj. 璀璨的；耀眼的

　　2. Venetian glass n. 威尼斯玻璃（以做工精美华丽而著称，可做成烛台、酒杯、灯盏、花瓶等精致用品）

　　3. likeness n. 肖像；画像（正式说法）

　　4. trench⁴ n. 沟；渠（诗中指母亲额头上的纹痕）

　　5. joy-radiant adj. 洋溢欢乐喜悦的（radiant 本意为发光的，容光焕发的，诗中用来指因欢乐而满面春风喜乐；而 care-heavy则指心事重重的样子）

　　6. thick adj. （天空或夜色）阴霾的；深浓的（用来形容诗句中的 the coming on of night，意指夜色如毯子般浓烈地逼近）

1 dazzling   

adj.眼花缭乱的；耀眼的

参考例句：

• The sky is clear and blue, the sunlight dazzling. 蔚蓝天空，阳光灿烂。
• The light reflecting off the snow was dazzling. 雪的反光很刺眼。

2 gaze   

v.凝视，盯，注视；n.凝视

参考例句：

• Her cheeks grew hot beneath the gaze of so many eyes.在众目睽睽之下，她的脸红了。
• He fixed his gaze on her.他凝视着她。

3 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

4 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

5 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

6 brow   

n.额，脑门子；眉毛，眉脊

参考例句：

• The years have set their mark on his brow.年岁在他的额上打下了印记。
• He wiped the sweat from his brow with his hands.他用手擦去了额头上的汗。