May 24, 1980
Joseph Brodsky

I have braved, for want of wild beasts, steel cages,
carved my term and nickname on bunks and rafters,
lived by the sea, flashed aces in an oasis,
dined with the-devil-knows-whom, in tails, on truffles.
From the height of a glacier I beheld half a world, the earthly
width. Twice have drowned, thrice let knives rake my nitty-gritty.
Quit the country the bore and nursed me.
Those who forgot me would make a city.
I have waded the steppes that saw yelling Huns in saddles,
worn the clothes nowadays back in fashion in every quarter,
planted rye, tarred the roofs of pigsties and stables,
guzzled everything save dry water.
I've admitted the sentries' third eye into my wet and foul
dreams. Munched the bread of exile; it's stale and warty.
Granted my lungs all sounds except the howl;
switched to a whisper. Now I am forty.
What should I say about my life? That it's long and abhors transparence.
Broken eggs make me grieve; the omelette, though, makes me vomit.
Yet until brown clay has been rammed down my larynx,
only gratitude will be gushing from it.
1980, translated by the author.

《1980年5月24日》
布罗茨基
胡桑译

我已足够勇敢，想要野兽，铁笼，
在床铺和椽子上刻下我的大名和绰号
住在海边，在绿洲里炫耀王牌，
在块菌上与洞察一切的魔鬼共餐，身穿燕尾服。
在冰山之巅，我注视过半个世界，那世俗的
部分。两次溺死，三次让刀子搜寻我的本质。
终止这个可恶的曾养育我的国家。
那些遗忘我的人会建造一座城市。
我艰难地走过草原，看见匈奴人在马鞍上叫喊，
时刻穿着过时的衣服，
种植黑麦，给猪圈和马厩涂上焦油，
暴饮暴食，节省稀少的水。
我已承认，哨兵的第三只眼进入了我潮湿而肮脏的
梦。津津有味地嚼着流亡的面包；它腐臭，全是疙瘩。
我肺里所有的声音已被许可，除了嚎叫；
它变为了低语。如今，我已四十。
对于我的生命，该说些什么？它漫长，厌恶赤裸。
破碎的鸡蛋令我忧伤；而煎蛋饼令我呕吐。
可是，褐色的粘土已经被塞进我的喉咙，
只有感激之情将会涌出。
1980，英文版由作者亲自翻译。
胡桑按：5月24日是布罗茨基的生日，1940年这一天他出生在苏联。他似乎想起了流放地的生活。布罗茨基不止一次表示过对苏联的憎恨。诗里，他称苏联为“这个可恶的曾养育我的国家”。此诗是诗集《致乌拉妮娅》(To Urania，1988)的第一首。