英国宇航员 - Simon Armitage

英国宇航员

Simon Armitage/ 刘荷辉 译

他在Spurn Point附近的波涛汹涌的海面上溅起。

我通过可投币望远镜看着却卡住了

用棒棒糖棒作为拖网渔船将他钓出

在波浪里，把他送回去执行任务

控制亨伯桥附近的交易庄园。

他用温和的声音说话：是的，这很好

回家;他想念他的妻子，孩子们，等不及了

剃须和热水澡。 “还有吗？

问题？'不，没有。

我跟随他的本田雅阁一点点

在A1的厨师，对面的桌子，看着

他点了全天早餐和一壶茶。

“你需要出去做那件事，”说

女服务员点燃一支烟。他读了这篇论文，

开始填字游戏，戳了一下黑布丁

用他的叉子。然后他盯着窗户

长期不间断的分钟，但只有在

繁忙的道路，永远不是天空。他的脸不是

月亮。他的手不是男人的手

谁会在手指和拇指之间捏住蓝色

行星，并把它提升到他的制表师的眼睛。

Simon Armitage

The English Astronaut

He splashed down in rough seas off Spurn Point.

I watched through a coin-op telescope jammed

with a lollipop stick as a trawler fished him out

of the waves and ferried him back to Mission

Control on a trading estate near the Humber Bridge.

He spoke with a mild voice: yes, it was good to be

home; he’d missed his wife, the kids, couldn’t wait

for a shave and a hot bath. ‘Are there any more

questions?’ No, there were not.

I followed him in his Honda Accord to a Little

Chef on the A1, took the table opposite, watched

him order the all-day breakfast and a pot of tea.

‘You need to go outside to do that,’ said the

waitress when he lit a cigarette. He read the paper,

started the crossword, poked at the black pudding

with his fork. Then he stared through the window

for long unbroken minutes at a time, but only at the

busy road, never the sky. And his face was not

the moon. And his hands were not the hands of a man

who had held between finger and thumb the blue

planet, and lifted it up to his watchmaker’s eye.