(三）As I Walked Out One Evening  
        by W. H. Auden

As I walked out one evening,
   Walking down Bristol Street,
The crowds upon the pavement
   Were fields of harvest wheat.

And down by the brimming river
   I heard a lover sing
Under an arch of the railway:
   'Love has no ending.

'I'll love you, dear, I'll love you
   Till China and Africa meet,
And the river jumps over the mountain
   And the salmon sing in the street,

'I'll love you till the ocean
   Is folded and hung up to dry
And the seven stars go squawking
   Like geese about the sky.

'The years shall run like rabbits,
   For in my arms I hold
The Flower of the Ages,
   And the first love of the world.'

But all the clocks in the city
   Began to whirr and chime:
'O let not Time deceive you,
   You cannot conquer Time.

'In the burrows of the Nightmare
   Where Justice naked is,
Time watches from the shadow
   And coughs when you would kiss.

'In headaches and in worry
   Vaguely life leaks away,
And Time will have his fancy
   To-morrow or to-day.

'Into many a green valley
   Drifts the appalling snow;
Time breaks the threaded dances
   And the diver's brilliant bow.

'O plunge your hands in water,
   Plunge them in up to the wrist;
Stare, stare in the basin
   And wonder what you've missed.

'The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
   The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
   A lane to the land of the dead.

'Where the beggars raffle the banknotes
   And the Giant is enchanting to Jack,
And the Lily-white Boy is a Roarer,
   And Jill goes down on her back.

'O look, look in the mirror,
   O look in your distress:
Life remains a blessing
   Although you cannot bless.

'O stand, stand at the window
   As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbour
   With your crooked heart.'

It was late, late in the evening,
   The lovers they were gone;
The clocks had ceased their chiming,
   And the deep river ran on.

亲爱的，我爱你
直至中国与非洲相遇，
河流跳过高山
鲑鱼在街市上歌唱

我爱你，直至
海洋合拢枯竭
北斗七星如鹅一般在天空惊叫

时光像兔子一样奔跑
年龄的花朵和对世界的眷恋
在我的臂弯里绽放

但是，城市的钟声敲响了，
不要让时间欺骗了你，
你不可能战胜时间

在噩梦的魔窟里
公正的法官是
时间躲在阴影里
当你亲吻时它来阻止

在忧愁与焦虑中
生命悄悄地逝去，
时光迷恋着
明天或今天

绿色的河流
带走了冬雪
时光打破了优美的舞蹈
和跳水者灿烂的一跃。

哦，将你的手放入水中，
浸没你的腕；
凝视，凝视着这片水
思考你失去了什么。

冰川叩响了橱柜，
沙漠在床上叹息，
茶杯上的裂缝
打开了通往死亡的路

当乞丐开始散发钞票
大力士迷倒了众人
纯洁的男孩却是暴力者
吉尔落在了她的背部

哦，看，看看镜子？
看到你的忧伤；
生命只剩下祝福
尽管你已无法祈祷。

哦，站立，站立在窗前
一任眼泪干了又流下；
你仍然爱着你不友好的邻居
同着你这不诚实的心。

一切都晚了，在生命的黄昏，
爱人已经离去；
时钟停止了报时，
大河仍在滔滔不绝地奔流。