「诗」想人生——未行之路
第 2857 期(2019 年 5 月 26 日) ◎ 阅读马拉松 ◎ 幻澄
中四那年,不知哪里来的动力,跟几位同学一起参加校际朗诵节,而且是英文诗歌组。感谢英文科老师很用心的指导我们练习。当时读到滚瓜烂熟的诗是美国诗人罗伯特·佛洛斯特(Robert Frost)的诗作《未行之路》( The Road Not Taken )。那是我首次接触英文诗,真的大开眼界。在短短20行里,诗人细说着自己的故事,在十字路口处,他如何作出抉择,并透露了他的考量和感叹。
The Road Not Taken/未行之路
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, /黄色林中分出两路
And sorry I could not travel both /惜乎无法两者皆游
And be one traveler, long I stood /身为旅人,良久驻足
And looked down one as far as I could /极目远望其一末处
To where it bent in the undergrowth; /树丛遮蔽拐弯尽头
Then took the other, as just as fair, /於是选择他途,其风景同样美丽
And having perhaps the better claim, /幽静或许更胜一筹
Because it was grassy and wanted wear; /碧草萋萋且少有人迹
Though as for that the passing there /尽管偶然遭我经历
Had worn them really about the same, /二路其实相差无几
And both that morning equally lay /那天清晨二路并置
In leaves no step had trodden black. /落叶清洁未经履践
Oh, I kept the first for another day! /噢,且将前路留待他日
Yet knowing how way leads on to way, /然而道路条条相连
I doubted if I should ever come back. /我可否有重回之时
I shall be telling this with a sigh /我将於它处重提此事,叹息不悟
Somewhere ages and ages hence: /时间流逝,光阴似电
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — /曾有一林分出两路,
I took the one less traveled by, /我选了少人走的路途
And that has made all the difference. /而这造就一切改变
身处分岔路口时,我们也会像诗人一样,花时间和心思去衡量不同的选择丶个中的优劣得失,作一轮的计算。有些时候,基於人的限制,看不清全局,未能掌握情况:「二路其实相差无几」,但是仍然要硬着头皮作出决定,哪管结果如何,哪管可否吃回头草:「然而道路条条相连/我可否有重回之时」。
诗人选了「少人走的路途,而这造就一切改变」,有趣的是,诗名是《未行之路》,即诗人未有选上的路,那较多人选上和走上的路。那条路,因为未行过,所以充满可能性?对比这行过的路,一切已成定局?尾段流露着感慨丶叹息,是对之前的决定後悔吗?对当下感到淡然丶惊叹,还是无奈?决定带来甚麽改变丶不同?怎样的喜与悲丶乐与怒?前境又如何?
身为中四学生妹,我未有这些思潮起伏,纯粹很欣赏这首诗的隔行押韵丶节奏感和呈现出来的画面。比赛後,这诗人成为了我的「朋友」,我买了他的诗集来看,那是一本薄薄的选集(selected poetry)。我的零用钱不多,用来购买这本课外读物,真不简单啊!而这小小的读诗种子,促成了我後来在大学钻研英诗的旅程。我的硕士论文就是赏析这位诗人的作品,探讨人对心灵满足的追寻。当然这回读的是全集(complete poetry)了。
一首诗引向另一首诗,一行又一行;一条路通往另一条路,一步又一步。