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SarahKay_2019-_用鸟群做成的鸟_-
I have a friend named Kaveh Akbar, who is a fellow poet. 我的朋友卡韦赫·阿克巴是一个诗人。
And Kaveh found this photo online of the anatomical heart of a blue whale that scientists had hung on a hook from the ceiling, which is how they were able to observe that the heart of a blue whale is big enough that a person can stand up fully inside of it. 卡韦赫在网上发现了这张照片, 上面是一只解剖了的蓝鲸心脏, 科学家把心脏挂在天花板的钩子上, 使得他们能够发现 蓝鲸的心脏如此之大, 一个人可以完全站在里面。
anatomical:adj.解剖的;解剖学的;结构上的; blue whale:n.[动]蓝鲸; hook:n.钩;挂钩;鱼钩;钓钩;v.挂住;箍住;钓(鱼);打曲线球; observe:v.观察;看到;庆祝;监视;
And when Kaveh shared this photo online, he did so with the caption, "This is another reminder that the universe has already written the poem you were planning on writing." 当卡韦赫在网上分享这张照片时, 他附上了这个标题, “这再次提醒了我们, 我们计划创作的诗歌 早已被这个宇宙写好了。”
And when I first saw that, I was horrified . 当我第一眼看到这个标题,我骇然了。
horrified:adj.惊骇的;带有恐怖感的;v.惊骇(horrify的过去式和过去分词);使…战悚;
I was like, "Come on, man! I'm trying to invent new metaphors ! 我心说,“不是吧,伙计! 我在尝试创造新的隐喻!
metaphors:n.隐喻(metaphor的复数形式);
I'm trying to discover beauty that hasn't been discovered yet. 我在尝试发掘尚未被发现的美。
What do you mean, the universe is always going to get there before me?" 为什么宇宙总是比我先到达那里?”
And I know this isn't a uniquely poet problem, but on days when the world feels especially big or especially impossible or especially full of grandeur , those are the days when I feel, "What do I possibly have to contribute to all of this?" 我知道这不单纯是 诗人面临的问题, 而是在有的日子里, 我感到这个世界一望无际, 深不可测, 气壮山河, 同时我也开始思考, “我能为这一切 做些什么呢？”
uniquely:adv.独特地;珍奇地; especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; grandeur:n.壮丽;庄严;宏伟; contribute to:有助于;捐献;
Not long ago, I saw this video that some of you may have seen. 不久前,我看到这段视频, 你们有些人可能看过。
It makes the internet rounds every couple of months. 它每隔几个月就会 在互联网上传播一次。
There are these birds that are called starlings , and they fly in what's called a " murmuration ," 有一种鸟叫做椋鸟, 成群结队飞来飞去,
starlings:n.[鸟]椋鸟;桥墩尖端分水桩;欧掠鸟(starling的复数); murmuration:发出低沉连续的抱怨声;
which is generally just a big cloud of birds. 简而言之就是一大群鸟。
generally:adv.通常;普遍地,一般地;
And someone happened to catch a quick video on their phone of these starlings flying. 有人碰巧用手机拍了 这些椋鸟飞行的短视频。
And at first, it's just an amorphous blob , and then there's a moment where the birds shift , and they form the shape of a starling in the sky! 一开始,它只是毫无规律的一团, 接着,在一个时刻,鸟群发生了改变, 它们在天空形成了 一只椋鸟的形状！
amorphous:adj.无定形的;无组织的;[物]非晶形的; blob:n.一滴;一抹;v.弄脏;把…做错;得零分; shift:n.移动;变化;手段;轮班;v.移动;转变;转换;
(Laughter) （笑声）
And as soon as I saw it, I was like, 当我看到这一幕,我不禁想,
as soon as:一…就;
(Gasps) "The universe has already written the poem you were planning on writing!" （惊叹）“你计划创作的诗歌 早已被这个宇宙写好了！”
(Laughter) （笑声）
Except, for the first time, it didn't fill me with despair . 不同以往,我第一次 没有为此感到失落。
despair:v.绝望;失去希望;丧失信心;n.绝望;
Instead, I thought, "OK. 相反,我想,“好的。
Maybe it's not my job to invent something new. 也许我的工作并不是发掘新事物。
Maybe instead it's my job to listen to what the universe is showing me and to keep myself open to what the universe offers, so that when it's my turn, 也许恰恰相反,我的工作就是 倾听世界在向我展示什么, 并开怀接受这个世界的赠予, 这样在轮到我时,
I can hold something to the light, just for a moment, just for as long as I have. 我就能为这个世界做点什么, 哪怕只是短暂的一刻, 我所拥有的一刻。
as long as:conj.只要;长达;如果;既然;
The universe has already written the poem that you were planning on writing. 你计划创作的诗歌 早已被这个宇宙写好。
And this is why you can do nothing but point at the flock of starlings whose bodies rise and fall in inherited choreography , swarming the sky in a sweeping curtain that, for one blistering moment, forms the unmistakeable shape of a giant bird flapping against the sky. 这也是为什么 你只能指着那群 在世代相传的队形中 起起落落的椋鸟, 像是覆盖天空的一幅巨大幕布, 就在那一瞬间, 形成了耀眼的 大鸟形状, 展翅翱翔。
flock:v.聚集;群集;蜂拥;n.(羊或鸟)群;(尤指同类人的)一大群; inherited:v.继承(金钱、财产等);接替(责任等);继任;(inherit的过去式和过去分词) choreography:n.编舞;舞蹈艺术;舞艺; swarming:v.成群地飞来飞去;(swarm的现在分词) sweeping:n.扫除; adj.影响广泛的; v.打扫; (sweep的现在分词) blistering:adj.猛烈的; n.[涂料]起泡; v.起水疱; giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的 flapping:n.拍动;摇摆运动;adj.摇摆运动的;挥动的;v.拍打,轻拍(flap的现在分词);
It is why your mouth forms an "o" 这就是为什么你们张大了嘴巴,
that is not a gasp , but rather, the beginning of, "Oh. Of course." 这并不是惊叹, 相反,你们的第一反应只是, “噢,当然了。”
gasp:v.喘气,喘息;气喘吁吁地说;渴望;n.深吸气;倒抽气;
As in, of course the heart of a blue whale is as large as a house with chambers tall enough to fit a person standing. 像是蓝鲸跟房子一样大的心脏, 里面足够高,当然能 容纳一个站立的人。
chambers:n.内庭(chamber的复数);
Of course a fig becomes possible when a lady wasp lays her eggs inside a flower, dies and decomposes , the fruit, evidence of her transformation . 当然, 当寄生蜂把卵产在花里, 死去并分解后, 它就变成了果实。
fig:n.无花果 wasp:n.黄蜂;[昆]胡蜂;易怒的人;vi.黄蜂似的直扑; decomposes:分解; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明; transformation:n.转变;(用于南非)民主改革;
Sometimes, the poem is so bright, your silly language will not stick to it. 有时,诗歌是如此的明充满智慧, 无法用肤浅的语言表达。
Sometimes, the poem is so true, nobody will believe you. 有时,诗歌是如此的真实, 甚至没人会相信你。
I am a bird made of birds. 我就是 由许多鸟组成的那只鸟。
This blue heart a house you can stand up inside of. 这个蓝色的心脏就是 能容下你的房子。
I am dying here inside this flower. 我在这里, 在这朵花里 消逝。
It is OK. 没关系,
It is what I was put here to do. 这就是我被派到这里的目的。
Take this fruit. 收下这个果实吧。
It is what I have to offer. 这是我所能给予的。
It may not be first, or ever best, but it is the only way to be sure that I lived at all. 这或许不是第一个, 也许不是最好的, 但这是能证明我来过这个世界 的唯一证据。
to be sure:诚然;的确;哎呀(表惊奇);
(Applause) （掌声）