Poetry: Love, Defeat by Kahlil Gibran

Love

爱

They say the jackal and the mole
Drink from the selfsame stream
Where the lion comes to drink.
And they say the eagle and the vulture
Dig their beaks into the same carcass,
And are at peace, one with the other,
In the presence of the dead thing.

他们说豺狼和鼹鼠
饮水来自同一条溪流
狮子也来此喝水
他们说苍鹰和秃鹰
用喙啄入同一具尸体
和平相处 彼此
在死物的面前

O love, whose lordly hand
Has bridled my desires,
And raised my hunger and my thirst
To dignity and pride,
Let not the strong in me and the constant
Eat the bread or drink the wine
That tempt my weaker self.

啊，爱，这宏伟的手
扼住了我众多的欲望
引起了我的饥饿和干渴
为了尊严和自豪
不要让我内在的坚强和恒定
吃面包或者喝红酒
那些吸引了软弱的自我

Let me rather starve,
And let my heart parch with thirst,
And let me die and perish,
Ere I stretch my hand
To a cup you did not fill,
Or a bowl you did not bless.

我宁愿让自己饿死
让我的内心干渴而焦褐
让我死去并灭亡
在此之前 我探出手去
伸向你没有倒满的杯
伸向你没有祝福的碗

Defeat

战败

Defeat, my Defeat, my solitude and my aloofness;
You are dearer to me than a thousand triumphs,
And sweeter to my heart than all world-glory.

战败，我的战败，我的孤独和超然
我珍视你，高过一千场胜利
比所有世间荣耀更让我内心甜蜜

Defeat, my Defeat, my self-knowledge and my defiance,
Through you I know that I am yet young and swift of foot
And not to be trapped by withering laurels.
And in you I have found aloneness
And the joy of being shunned and scorned.

战败，我的战败，我的自知和我的反抗
你让我明白，我还年轻，步履矫健
不要为被枯萎的桂冠所困
你的深处，我发现孤独
发现被人轻视和嘲笑的喜悦

Defeat, my Defeat, my shining sword and shield,
In your eyes I have read
That to be enthroned is to be enslaved,
And to be understood is to be leveled down,
And to be grasped is but to reach one’s fullness
And like a ripe fruit to fall and be consumed.

战败，我的战败，我闪闪发光的剑和盾
在你的眼里，我读到了些许
那要被加冕的是要被奴役
那要被理解的是要被降级
那要被领会的只是要去完成人的充实
就像成熟的水果落下并被食用

Defeat, my Defeat, my bold companion,
You shall hear my songs and my cries and my silences,
And none but you shall speak to me of the beating of wings,
And urging of seas,
And of mountains that burn in the night,
And you alone shall climb my steep and rocky soul.

战败，我的战败，我大胆冒险的同伴
你将听到我的歌声，我的痛哭和我的沉默
除了你，无人将对我诉说翅膀的拍击
和海洋的呼号
在深夜燃烧的山脉中
你将孤身攀登我那陡峭崎岖的灵魂

Defeat, my Defeat, my deathless courage,
You and I shall laugh together with the storm,
And together we shall dig graves for all that die in us,
And we shall stand in the sun with a will,
And we shall be dangerous.

战败，我的战败，我不灭的勇气
你和我将与暴风雨一起畅笑
我们将一起为所有死在我们身中的人挖掘坟墓
我们将带着意志站在太阳下
我们将是危险的存在