W. B. Yeats - A Woman Young and Old (II) 汉译

II. BEFORE THE WORLD WAS MADE

If I make the lashes dark

And the eyes more bright

And the lips more scarlet,

Or ask if all be right

From mirror after mirror,

No vanity's displayed:

I'm looking for the face I had

Before the world was made.

What if I look upon a man

As though on my beloved,

And my blood be cold the while

And my heart unmoved?

Why should he think me cruel

Or that he is betrayed?

I'd have him love the thing that was

Before the world was made.

一个女人的青年和老年

二、创世之前

威廉·巴特勒·叶芝

如果我把睫毛描黛

把眼睛衬得更明，

把嘴唇涂得更红，

或对一面面镜子发问，

是否一切都妥当，

那也不是为了虚荣：

我是在寻找我在

创世之前曾有的颜容。

如果我凝视一个男人

好象凝视我的情郎，

同时我的血液冰冷，

心也不动，那又怎样？

他为何就该认为我冷酷，

或者认为他遭到背弃？

我想让他爱上那

创世之前存在的东西。