Praise Song for the Day
by Elizabeth Alexander
（A Poem for Barack Obama\'s Presidential Inauguration）

光明行
－伊丽莎白 亚历山大
（为奥巴马的总统就职典礼而作）



Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other, catching each other\'s
eyes or not, about to speak or speaking.

每一天我们忙于生计
有意或无意中从彼此的视野中走过
叙述或丢下一串串故事

All about us is noise. All about us is
noise and bramble, thorn and din, each
one of our ancestors on our tongues.

噪声淹没了一切
只留下荆棘，尖刺和喧闹
以及流淌在心中的每一个前辈的坎坷

Someone is stitching up a hem, darning
a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

生活就是不停地缝补衣服
或者修复破损的轮胎
还有一大堆等在那里需要修理的杂物

Someone is trying to make music somewhere,
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

美丽的乐声时常响起
有来自油鼓上的一对木制汤匙的舞蹈
也有大提琴，八音盒，口琴甚至口技的低吟浅唱

A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, Take out your pencils. Begin.

女人带着儿子在等公共汽车
农民在张望那不断变化的天空
而教师却在说，拿出你的铅笔，开始吧

We encounter each other in words, words
spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed,
words to consider, reconsider.

不期而遇的声音从四面八方袭来
无论是善意的还是刺耳的，无论是嘟囔或大声嚷嚷
都从我们心中潺潺而过

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark
the will of some one and then others, who said
I need to see what\'s on the other side.

土路和高速公路边标志的背后
写满了这些人，或者那些人的意愿
我们应该去看看，另外一边有什么别样的风景

I know there\'s something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe.
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

前面的路上总会有更好的东西在等待
朝着所选的方向坚定不移地走下去，无论还有多远
直到有一个安全的地方来安顿我们疲惫的身心

Say it plain: that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,

多少人没有等到这一天
让我们吟唱那些逝者的名字
是他们为我们铺设了火车轨道，又架起一座座桥梁

picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.

是他们为我们采摘棉花，种植蔬菜
是他们用一砖一瓦建起这个辉煌的社会
并为保持这个辉煌的社会而继续不懈地工作

Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables.

赞美劳动，赞美今天
赞美我们亲手打造的每一个惊天动地的事迹
也赞美每天柴米油盐带来的欢乐

Some live by love thy neighbor as thyself,
others by first do no harm or take no more
than you need. What if the mightiest word is love?

如果不能爱邻居就像爱自己
至少可以不去伤害别人，也不贪图无厌
当爱成为我们心中最美丽的字眼时 美好就在眼前
Love beyond marital, filial, national,
love that casts a widening pool of light,
love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

博爱充满了无边的光芒
它将覆盖爱情，亲情和民族之情
甚至可以爱得无怨无悔

In today\'s sharp sparkle, this winter air,
any thing can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp,

火花在冬季的空气里剧烈的跳跃
点燃任何可以燃烧的激情
在天之涯，海之畔，或者山之巅

praise song for walking forward in that light.
让我们一起歌唱
并肩走在这片光明的世界里


译者：　林曦

１、２4、２９