A Valentine to – – –
Edgar Allan Poe
For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes,
Brightly expressive as the twins of Lœda,
Shall find her own sweet name, that, nestling lies
Upon the page, enwrapped from every reader.
Search narrowly the lines! – they hold a treasure
Divine – a talisman – an amulet
That must be worn at heart. Search well the measure –
The words – the syllables! Do not forget
The trivialest point, or you may lose your labor!
And yet there is in this no Gordian knot
Which one might not undo without a sabre,
If one could merely comprehend the plot.
Enwritten upon the leaf where now are peering
Eyes scintillating soul, there lie perdus
Three eloquent words oft uttered in the hearing
Of poets, by poets – as the name is a poet’s, too,
Its letters, although naturally lying
Like the knight Pinto – Mendez Ferdinando –
Still form a synonym for Truth. – Cease trying!
You will not read the riddle, though you do the best you can do.
1846
赠——的情人节礼物
爱伦·坡
这首诗专为她而作，她那明亮的双眼，
那如同勒达的双子双星的明眸，
将发现她自己可爱的名字，半隐半现
在这页纸上，避开了读者探求。
仔细搜寻每一行——其间藏着块宝石——
是一件吉祥物——是一个护身符，
它必须戴在心里。精心探索这些韵律——
词汇——音节!请千万不要疏忽
最细微的地方，不然你的辛苦将白搭!
但这里并没有戈耳狄俄斯之结，
人们要解开那怪结可以用快刀斩乱麻，
而你则只能弄懂解此谜的秘诀。
就在这页现在正被眼睛所凝视并写上
了一个闪光灵魂的纸上，潜隐
着三个动人的字眼，而这些字眼常常
被诗人说出或听见——因那芳名
也是位诗人。它的字母，虽排列自然
如平托骑士——门德斯·弗迪南多——
仍构成“真”的同义词。请停止实验!
你解不开这谜，虽你再三琢磨。
(1846)
*此诗把奥斯古德夫人的名字嵌在了诗行中。将原文第1行第1个字母、第2行第2个字母、第3行第3个字母(依次类推至第20行第20个字母)连起来才能拼出Frances Sargent Osgood。
(曹明伦 译)
