012-Warning/警告

　
警告

假如你的鄰居不見了
噢 假如你的鄰居不見了
那個安靜耙草的男人
那個充滿陽光的女孩

千萬別和你老婆說
千萬別在晚餐時提
那個耙草的男人
他發生了啥事

也千萬別對你女兒說
當你們離開教堂走在回家的路上
別告訴她那個女孩發生了啥好玩的事
別說你已經一個月沒見到她

萬一你的兒子對你說
隔壁現在沒人住了
那兒人都搬走了
你就罰他不能吃晚餐叫他去睡覺

因為此事會擴大，會一直擴大
突然某個美好夜晚你回到家
你的老婆女兒還有兒子
他們會因為明白了這件事而全部走光

─李歐納柯恩《讓我們比擬神話》1956
─13 譯自《異地樂章》1993 / 2009.7


WARNING

If your neighbour disappears
O if your neighbour disappears
The quiet man who raked his lawn
The girl who always took the sun

Never mention it to your wife
Never say at dinner time
Whatever happened to that man
Who used to rake his lawn

Never say to your daughter
As you’re walking home from church
Funny thing about that girl
I haven’t seen her for a month

And if your son says to you
Nobody lives next door
They’ve all gone away
Send him to bed with no supper

Because it can spread, it can spread
And one fine evening coming home
Your wife and daughter and son
They’ll have caught the idea and will be gone

(by Leonard Cohen from "Let Us Compare Mythologies", 1956)
("Stranger Music--selected poems and songs", 1993)