ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Kay - Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

Why you should listen

Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan’s East Village absorbing the talents of New York’s most exciting poets. Not only did Sarah Kay do that -- she also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in the art of teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was ranked the number one poetry book on Amazon.com. Her second book, No Matter the Wreckage, is available from Write Bloody Publishing.

Sarah also founded Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Project VOICE runs performances and workshops to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world.

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Kay | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxEast

Sarah Kay: How many lives can you live?

Filmed:
1,362,376 views

Spoken-word poet Sarah Kay was stunned to find she couldn’t be a princess, ballerina and astronaut all in one lifetime. In this talk, she delivers two powerful poems that show us how we can live other lives. (Filmed at TEDxEast.)
- Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
(Singing唱歌) I see the moon月亮.
The moon月亮 sees看到 me.
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(清唱)我看見了月亮,
月亮也看見了我。
00:21
The moon月亮 sees看到 somebody that I don't see.
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月亮也看見了那些
我看不到的人。
00:27
God bless保佑 the moon月亮, and God bless保佑 me.
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上帝保佑那月亮,
上帝也保佑我。
00:34
And God bless保佑 the somebody
that I don't see.
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上帝也保佑那些
我看不到的人。
00:40
If I get to heaven天堂, before you do,
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如果我在你的前面,
去到了天堂,
00:46
I'll make a hole and pull you through通過.
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我會挖一個洞,把你也拉進來。
00:52
And I'll write your name名稱 on every一切 star,
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我會在每一顆星星上
都寫下你的名字,
00:58
and that way the world世界
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這樣的話,這個世界看起來
01:02
won't慣於 seem似乎 so far.
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就離你不會太遠。
01:05
The astronaut宇航員 will not be at work today今天.
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太空人今天不上班。
01:10
He has called in sick生病.
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他今天請了病假。
01:11
He has turned轉身 off his cell細胞 phone電話,
his laptop筆記本電腦, his pager呼叫器, his alarm報警 clock時鐘.
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他關掉了他的手機,他的筆電,
他的呼叫器,他的鬧鐘。
01:16
There is a fat脂肪 yellow黃色 cat
asleep睡著 on his couch長椅,
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黃色的大肥貓躺在他的沙發上,
01:20
raindrops雨滴 against反對 the window窗口
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窗外下著大雨,
01:21
and not even the hint暗示
of coffee咖啡 in the kitchen廚房 air空氣.
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廚房的空氣中,
也絲毫沒有咖啡的香味。
01:25
Everybody每個人 is in a tizzy如痴如醉.
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每個人都很緊張。
01:26
The engineers工程師 on the 15th floor地板 have
stopped停止 working加工 on their particle粒子 machine.
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15 樓的工程師
不再操作他的粒子加速器。
01:30
The anti-gravity反重力 room房間 is leaking洩漏,
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反重力房間也發生了洩漏,
01:32
and even the freckled雀斑的 kid孩子 with glasses眼鏡,
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甚至連那個專門負責倒垃圾的
01:34
whose誰的 only job工作 is to take
out the trash垃圾, is nervous緊張,
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戴眼鏡的雀斑小子都很緊張,
01:37
fumbles摸索 the bag, spills洩漏
a banana香蕉 peel and a paper cup杯子.
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不停地撥弄著垃圾袋,
連香蕉皮和紙杯都掉出來了。
01:39
Nobody沒有人 notices通告.
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沒有任何人注意到。
01:41
They are too busy recalculating重新計算
what this all mean for lost丟失 time.
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他們都忙著重新
計算時間流逝代表的意義。
01:44
How many許多 galaxies星系
are we losing失去 per second第二?
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我們每秒鐘失去了多少星系?
距離下一個火箭發射還有多長時間?
01:46
How long before next下一個 rocket火箭
can be launched推出?
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01:48
Somewhere某處 an electron電子
flies蒼蠅 off its energy能源 cloud.
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某個地方的電子飛離了它的能量雲。
01:51
A black黑色 hole has erupted爆發.
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一個黑洞坍塌了。
01:53
A mother母親 finishes飾面 setting設置
the table for dinner晚餐.
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一個媽媽佈置好了晚餐的餐桌。
01:56
A Law &amp功放; Order訂購 marathon馬拉松 is starting開始.
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一個名叫《法律與秩序》的
美劇開演了。
01:58
The astronaut宇航員 is asleep睡著.
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太空人睡著了。
02:00
He has forgotten忘記了 to turn off his watch,
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他忘記關掉了他的手錶,
02:02
which哪一個 ticks, like a metal金屬
pulse脈衝 against反對 his wrist.
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滴答滴答響著,
像是金屬脈衝撞擊在他手腕上。
02:05
He does not hear it.
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他沒有聽到。
02:06
He dreams of coral珊瑚 reefs珊瑚礁 and plankton浮游生物.
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他夢到了珊瑚礁和浮游生物。
02:09
His fingers手指 find
the pillowcase's枕套的 sailing帆船 masts桅杆.
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他用手指抓住枕頭套,
像是抓著船桅一樣,
02:13
He turns on his side,
opens打開 his eyes眼睛 at once一旦.
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他翻了個身,
有那麼一秒他睜開了眼睛。
02:16
He thinks that scuba水肺 divers潛水員 must必須 have
the most wonderful精彩 job工作 in the world世界.
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他覺得,潛水員
是這個世上最棒的工作了。
02:20
So much water to glide滑行 through通過!
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可以在無限的大海裡徜徉!
02:25
(Applause掌聲)
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(鼓掌)
02:31
Thank you.
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謝謝。
02:33
When I was little, I could
not understand理解 the concept概念
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在我很小的時候,
有一個概念我不能夠理解,
02:37
that you could only live生活 one life.
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就是,一個人只能過一種生活。
02:40
I don't mean this metaphorically比喻.
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我不是在比喻什麼,
02:42
I mean, I literally按照字面 thought
that I was going to get to do
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我是說,我真的認為
我可以做所有我想做的事情。
02:45
everything there was to do
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02:47
and be everything there was to be.
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成為所有我想成為的人,
02:50
It was only a matter of time.
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而這只是時間的問題而已!
02:51
And there was no limitation局限性
based基於 on age年齡 or gender性別
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並且沒有年齡、性別、種族的限制,
02:54
or race種族 or even appropriate適當 time period.
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甚至也無需顧慮甚麼是
「合適的時段」。
02:57
I was sure that I was going
to actually其實 experience經驗
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我確信我可以真正的去體驗,
03:01
what it felt like to be a leader領導
of the civil國內 rights權利 movement運動
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那種做為人權運動領袖的感受,
03:05
or a ten-year十年 old boy男孩 living活的
on a farm農場 during the dust灰塵 bowl
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或像一個 10 歲的小男孩,
活在 30 年代
「黑色風暴事件」的農場那樣,
03:08
or an emperor皇帝 of the Tang
dynasty王朝 in China中國.
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或者像中國唐朝時代的皇帝那樣。
03:12
My mom媽媽 says that when people asked me
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我媽媽說,小時候人家問我:
03:14
what I wanted to be when I grew成長 up,
my typical典型 response響應 was:
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「你長大後想當什麼人?」
我的標準答案總是:
公主—芭蕾舞者—太空人。
03:18
princess-ballerina-astronaut公主芭蕾舞演員,宇航員.
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03:20
And what she doesn't understand理解
is that I wasn't trying to invent發明
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其實她不知道,
我並不是要把許多職業合併,
創造出一個新的超級職業。
03:23
some combined結合 super profession職業.
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03:25
I was listing清單 things I thought
I was gonna get to be:
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當時我只是列出
以後我想成為的人而已。
03:28
a princess公主 and a ballerina芭蕾舞演員
and an astronaut宇航員.
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公主、芭蕾舞者、太空人,
03:32
and I'm pretty漂亮 sure the list名單
probably大概 went on from there.
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而且我確信那些夢想
以後都會一一實現。
03:34
I usually平時 just got cut off.
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不過我通常都是被潑冷水。
03:36
It was never a question
of if I was gonna get to do something
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至於我將來是否做得到?
對我來說,它從來都不是我的問題,
03:39
so much of a question of when.
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它只是「甚麼時候去做」而已。
03:42
And I was sure that if I was going
to do everything,
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而且我確信我會實現我所有的目標。
03:44
that it probably大概 meant意味著 I had
to move移動 pretty漂亮 quickly很快,
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這可能意味著我要行動迅速,
因為我要做的事情太多太多了。
03:47
because there was a lot
of stuff東東 I needed需要 to do.
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所以我的生活一直都是奔波忙碌的。
03:49
So my life was constantly經常
in a state of rushing.
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我總是擔心進度落後。
03:51
I was always scared害怕
that I was falling落下 behind背後.
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加上我是在紐約市區長大的,
03:53
And since以來 I grew成長 up
in New York紐約 City, as far as I could tell,
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步調緊湊本來就是這裡的生活常態。
03:57
rushing was pretty漂亮 normal正常.
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04:00
But, as I grew成長 up, I had
this sinking下沉 realization實現,
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但我長大了之後,我失望的意識到,
04:04
that I wasn't gonna get to live生活
any more than one life.
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我不可能有多重的人生。
04:08
I only knew知道 what it felt like
to be a teenage青少年 girl女孩
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身為一個在紐約長大的女孩,
我就只能感受到那種感覺而已,
04:11
in New York紐約 City,
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04:12
not a teenage青少年 boy男孩 in New Zealand新西蘭,
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我卻無法體會到,
做為一個紐西蘭青少年的那種感覺,
04:14
not a prom舞會 queen女王 in Kansas堪薩斯.
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或是做為堪薩斯
畢業舞會皇后的那種感覺,
04:17
I only got to see through通過 my lens鏡片.
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我只能用我的視角去看這個世界,
04:19
And it was around this time
that I became成為 obsessed痴迷 with stories故事,
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而也恰好是在那段時間裡,
我開始迷上了故事。
04:23
because it was through通過 stories故事
that I was able能夠 to see
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因為透過故事,
我才可以站在別人的視角,
去認識這個世界。
04:26
through通過 someone有人 else's別人的 lens鏡片,
however然而 briefly簡要地 or imperfectly不完美.
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不管它是如何短暫,或是不完美!
04:30
And I started開始 craving hearing聽力
other people's人們 experiences經驗
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我開始渴望聽到別人的經歷,
04:33
because I was so jealous
that there were entire整個 lives生活
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因為我嫉妒他們的生活,
而那些都是我從來沒過的經歷。
04:37
that I was never gonna get to live生活,
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04:38
and I wanted to hear
about everything that I was missing失踪.
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我想要聽我所錯過的一切的故事。
而且根據遞移關係,
04:41
And by transitive及物 property屬性,
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我發現有些人,
04:42
I realized實現 that some people
were never gonna get to experience經驗
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是永遠無法體驗紐約長大的女孩﹑
她們的經歷是怎樣的。
04:46
what it felt like to be a teenage青少年 girl女孩
in New York紐約 city.
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04:48
Which哪一個 meant意味著 that they weren't gonna know
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這意味著,他們不會知道,
04:50
what the subway地鐵 ride
after your first kiss feels感覺 like,
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初吻後坐地鐵是什麼樣的感受。
04:54
or how quiet安靜 it gets得到 when its snows下雪.
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也不會知道下雪的時候
外面有多安靜,
04:56
And I wanted them to know,
I wanted to tell them.
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我想要他們知道,我想告訴他們,
04:59
And this became成為 the focus焦點 of my obsession困擾.
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就是因為有這些事,
所以成為我執著的焦點,
05:02
I busied忙著 myself telling告訴 stories故事
and sharing分享 stories故事 and collecting蒐集 them.
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我馬不停蹄的寫我的故事、
分享我的故事、
以及收集我自己的故事。
05:05
And it's not until直到 recently最近
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至今最近我才意識到,
05:07
that I realized實現 that
I can't always rush poetry詩歌.
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我不能總是那樣匆匆忙忙的寫詩。
05:12
In April四月 for National國民 Poetry詩歌 Month,
there's this challenge挑戰
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4 月份舉辦的
國家詩歌月有一個挑戰,
05:15
that many許多 poets詩人 in the poetry詩歌
community社區 participate參加 in,
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詩歌協會的很多詩人
都參與了這個挑戰。
05:19
and its called the 30/30 Challenge挑戰.
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這個挑戰的名稱為 30/30 挑戰賽。
05:21
The idea理念 is you write a new poem
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它的規則是,在 4 月份的每一天,
05:24
every一切 single day
for the entire整個 month of April四月.
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你都要創作出一首新詩。
05:27
And last year, I tried試著 it
for the first time
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去年我開始了我的第一次嘗試,
05:29
and was thrilled高興 by the efficiency效率
at which哪一個 I was able能夠 to produce生產 poetry詩歌.
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我被我自己創作詩歌的效力嚇著了。
05:34
But at the end結束 of the month, I looked看著
back at these 30 poems I had written書面
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但是在那個月的最後一天,
我回過頭看我寫的 30 首詩。
05:38
and discovered發現 that they were
all trying to tell the same相同 story故事,
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發現它們都在嘗試寫同樣的故事,
05:42
it had just taken採取 me 30 tries嘗試 to figure數字
out the way that it wanted to be told.
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我經歷了 30 次的嘗試後,
才想出我想敘述的方法,
05:47
And I realized實現 that this is probably大概 true真正
of other stories故事 on an even larger scale規模.
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我也理解到,
對於其他規模更大的故事,
情況似乎也是差不多。
05:51
I have stories故事 that I have
tried試著 to tell for years年份,
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我有一些故事,
多年來一直嘗試想講給別人聽,
05:53
rewriting重寫 and rewriting重寫 and constantly經常
searching搜索 for the right words.
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我一而再不停的重寫,
不斷的尋找適合的文字。
05:57
There's a French法國 poet詩人 and essayist散文家
by the name名稱 of Paul保羅 Val瓦爾éryRY
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法國有位詩人兼散文家,
保羅·瓦雷里曾經說過:
06:01
who said a poem is never
finished, it is only abandoned.
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「詩是無法完成的,它只能被放棄。」
06:05
And this terrifies嚇壞了 me
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這句話讓我嚇到了,
因為它給了我一個暗示,
06:06
because it implies暗示 that I could keep
re-editing重新編輯 and rewriting重寫 forever永遠
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那就是我可以永遠不停的重新編輯、
不斷的重新修改,
06:09
and its up to me to decide決定
when a poem is finished
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而這給了我權利
來決定何時寫完這首詩,
06:13
and when I can walk步行 away from it.
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並決定何時抽身離開。
06:15
And this goes directly against反對
my very obsessive強迫症 nature性質
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而這也直接
違反了我非常執著的本性,
06:18
to try to find the right answer回答
and the perfect完善 words and the right form形成.
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總是在嘗試尋找正確的答案,
完美的詞語和正確的形式。
06:22
And I use poetry詩歌 in my life,
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我在生活中常常使用詩句,
來做為幫助我
尋求和解決問題的方法。
06:24
as a way to help me navigate導航
and work through通過 things.
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06:27
But just because I end結束 the poem,
doesn't mean that I've solved解決了
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但當我寫完我的詩篇時,
並不代表這我當時的疑惑
也獲得了解決。
06:30
what it was I was puzzling令人費解 through通過.
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06:32
I like to revisit重溫 old poetry詩歌
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我喜歡回顧我的舊詩,
06:34
because it shows節目 me exactly究竟
where I was at that moment時刻
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因為它們可以準確告訴我,
那個時候我是什麼樣的狀態,
06:38
and what it was I was trying to navigate導航
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我在嘗試去探尋什麼,
06:40
and the words that I chose選擇 to help me.
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以及,我當時選來
幫助我的詞又是什麼。
我有一個故事,
06:43
Now, I have a story故事
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06:44
that I've been stumbling絆腳
over for years年份 and years年份
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我躊躇了很多年。
06:47
and I'm not sure if I've found發現
the prefect長官 form形成,
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我不確定我是否找到了完美的形式,
或者只是一種
讓我可以繼續完成的嘗試,
06:50
or whether是否 this is just one attempt嘗試
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06:52
and I will try to rewrite改寫 it later後來
in search搜索 of a better way to tell it.
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用來尋找重新再敘述
這故事的更好辦法。
06:56
But I do know that later後來, when I look back
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但是我的確知道,
當我再回顧這首詩的時候,
06:59
I will be able能夠 to know that
this is where I was at this moment時刻
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到時我就可以知道,
當時的我就是那個樣子,
07:03
and this is what I was trying to navigate導航,
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那就是我當時在嘗試追尋的,
07:05
with these words, here,
in this room房間, with you.
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用這些詞語,在這間屋子裡,
跟你們在一起。
07:11
So --
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所以,
07:13
Smile微笑.
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笑一個。
07:20
It didn't always work this way.
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這樣通常行不通。
07:22
There's a time you had
to get your hands dirty.
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有些時候,你總得親力而為,
大部分時間你都是在黑暗中摸索;
而「探索」本身其實就是一種恩典。
07:25
When you were in the dark黑暗,
for most of it, fumbling摸索 was a given特定.
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07:29
If you needed需要 more
contrast對比, more saturation飽和,
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如果你需要更多的對比,
更多的飽和度,
讓黑暗變得更暗、亮的變得更亮,
07:32
darker darks深色衣物 and brighter光明 brights亮色,
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07:34
they called it extended擴展 development發展.
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他們把它稱之為「靜止顯影」。
07:37
It meant意味著 you spent花費 longer inhaling吸入
chemicals化學製品, longer up to your wrist.
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也就是說:你花更長時間
吸進更多的化學物質,泡得更久。
07:40
It wasn't always easy簡單.
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這不是一直都是那麼容易的。
07:42
Grandpa爺爺 Stewart斯圖爾特 was a Navy海軍 photographer攝影師.
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我祖父斯圖爾特
過去是一位海軍攝影師,
07:45
Young年輕, red-faced
with his sleeves袖子 rolled熱軋 up,
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他年輕時紅光滿面,
袖子總是捲起來,
07:48
fists拳頭 of fingers手指 like fat脂肪 rolls勞斯萊斯 of coins硬幣,
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拳頭手指握起來
就像厚厚一疊硬幣。
07:51
he looked看著 like Popeye大力水手
the sailor水手 man come to life.
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看起來就像大力水手的真人版。
07:54
Crooked smile微笑, tuft of chest胸部 hair頭髮,
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笑起來嘴巴彎彎的,一簇簇的胸毛,
07:56
he showed顯示 up to World世界 War戰爭 IIII,
with a smirk傻笑 and a hobby愛好.
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他去參加二戰,
帶著得意,帶著嗜好。
07:59
When they asked him if he knew知道
much about photography攝影,
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當人們問他對攝影了解多少時,
08:02
he lied說謊, learned學到了 to read
Europe歐洲 like a map地圖,
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他沒說實話。
他學會看歐洲就像看地圖,
08:05
upside上邊 down, from the height高度
of a fighter戰鬥機 plane平面,
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上下顛倒,從戰鬥機的高度。
08:09
camera相機 snapping捕捉, eyelids眼皮 flapping
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快門不停的開闔,眼皮不斷的眨動,
08:11
the darkest最黑暗 darks深色衣物 and brightest brights亮色.
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他看到最黯的黑色,
也看過最亮的光明。
08:13
He learned學到了 war戰爭 like he could
read his way home.
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他了解戰爭,
就像識途老馬認識回家的路一樣。
08:17
When other men男人 returned,
they would put their weapons武器 out to rest休息,
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別的軍人退伍歸鄉時,
武器一拋,不再留戀,
但是他把鏡頭和相機帶回家。
08:20
but he brought the lenses鏡頭
and the cameras相機 home with him.
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08:23
Opened開業 a shop, turned轉身 it
into a family家庭 affair事務.
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將它們轉變為一個家庭事業。
08:26
My father父親 was born天生 into this
world世界 of black黑色 and white白色.
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我父親生出在黑白照片的世代,
08:29
His basketball籃球 hands learned學到了
the tiny clicks點擊 and slides幻燈片
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他用籃球運動員般的大手,
學習操作那些細小的按鍵,
08:32
of lens鏡片 into frame, film電影 into camera相機,
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學習如何固定鏡頭、
將膠捲裝入相機、
08:35
chemical化學 into plastic塑料 bin箱子.
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把化學物質裝入塑料桶。
08:37
His father父親 knew知道 the equipment設備
but not the art藝術.
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他的父親了解那些器材,
但是不懂藝術,
08:40
He knew知道 the darks深色衣物 but not the brights亮色.
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他瞭解暗影的技術,
但是不知道如何利用光線。
08:42
My father父親 learned學到了 the magic魔法,
spent花費 his time following以下 light.
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我父親學到了其中的奧妙,
花了很多時間去追逐光線。
08:45
Once一旦 he traveled旅行 across橫過 the country國家
to follow跟隨 a forest森林 fire,
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有一次他橫穿整個國家,
去追蹤一場森林大火,
08:49
hunted獵殺 it with his camera相機 for a week.
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用他的相機獵捕火災現場,
記錄了整整一周的景象。
08:52
"Follow跟隨 the light," he said.
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「跟著光走!」 他這麼說。
08:54
"Follow跟隨 the light."
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「跟著亮光走。」
08:55
There are parts部分 of me
I only recognize認識 from photographs照片.
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我有一部分的人生,
只有照片的記憶,
08:58
The loft閣樓 on Wooster伍斯特 Street
with the creaky發輾的 hallways走廊,
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伍斯特街上的閣樓,
吱呀吱呀響的走廊,
09:01
the twelve-foot十二英尺 ceilings天花板,
white白色 walls牆壁 and cold floors地板.
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12 英吋高的天花板、
白色的牆、冰冷的地板;
09:04
This was my mother's母親 home,
before she was mother母親.
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在她身為人母之前,
那就是我母親的家。
09:07
Before she was wife妻子, she was artist藝術家.
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在嫁人之前她是個藝術家。
09:10
And the only two rooms客房 in the house,
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房子裡僅僅只有 2 個房間,
09:11
with walls牆壁 that reached到達
all the way up to the ceiling天花板,
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牆壁直達天花板,
門開了又關,
09:14
and doors that opened打開 and closed關閉,
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09:16
were the bathroom浴室 and the darkroom暗室.
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裡面有洗手間和暗房。
09:18
The darkroom暗室 she built內置 herself她自己,
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暗房是她自己製作的,
09:20
with custom-made定制 stainless不銹 steel sinks,
an 8x10 bed enlarger放大機
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裡面有特製的不鏽鋼水池,
一個 8x10 英吋大的相片放大器。
09:25
that moved移動 up and down
by a giant巨人 hand crank曲柄,
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還有一支很大的手動曲柄,
可以用來上下移動工作平台,
09:27
a bank銀行 of color-balanced色彩平衡 lights燈火,
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一整排的色彩平衡燈泡,
09:29
a white白色 glass玻璃 wall for viewing觀看 prints版畫,
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一面白色玻璃牆
用來看沖洗出來的照片,
09:31
a drying烘乾 rack that moved移動
in and out from the wall.
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一個可以從牆上
拉進拉出的相片乾燥架。
09:33
My mother母親 built內置 herself她自己 a darkroom暗室.
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我的母親為她自己搭建了一個暗房,
09:36
Made製作 it her home.
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把它變成了她的家。
09:37
Fell費爾 in love with a man
with basketball籃球 hands,
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愛上了一個有一雙手掌
長得像籃球員那樣大的男人,
09:40
with the way he looked看著 at light.
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愛上了他看待光線時的那種樣子。
09:42
They got married已婚. Had a baby寶寶.
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他們結婚了,生了一個小孩,
09:44
Moved移動 to a house near a park公園.
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搬去了一個靠近公園的房子,
09:46
But they kept不停 the loft閣樓 on Wooster伍斯特 Street
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但是他們留著
伍斯特街上的那個閣樓。
09:48
for birthday生日 parties派對 and treasure寶藏 hunts狩獵.
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用來舉辦生日聚會和尋寶遊戲。
09:51
The baby寶寶 tipped the grayscale灰階,
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小寶寶顛覆了黑白相冊,
09:53
filled填充 her parents'父母' photo照片 albums專輯
with red balloons氣球 and yellow黃色 icing刨冰.
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用紅色的氣球和黃色糖霜蛋糕,
點綴她父母相冊的色彩。
09:57
The baby寶寶 grew成長 into a girl女孩
without freckles雀斑,
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小寶寶長大後
成為一個沒有雀斑的女孩,
09:59
with a crooked smile微笑,
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笑起來嘴巴彎彎的。
10:01
who didn’t understand理解 why her friends朋友
did not have darkrooms暗室 in their houses房屋,
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她不明白為什麼
她朋友家中都沒有暗房,
10:05
who never saw her parents父母 kiss,
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也從來沒有見過
他們的父母互相親吻,
10:07
who never saw them hold保持 hands.
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沒有見過他們牽手。
10:09
But one day, another另一個 baby寶寶 showed顯示 up.
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但是有一天,另外一個寶寶出現了。
10:11
This one with perfect完善 straight直行
hair頭髮 and bubble泡沫 gum cheeks臉頰.
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一個有著完美直髮,
臉頰像泡泡糖一樣的寶寶。
10:14
They named命名 him sweet potato土豆.
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他們管他叫「番薯。」
10:16
When he laughed笑了, he laughed笑了 so loudly高聲
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當他笑的時候,總是笑得很大聲,
10:18
he scared害怕 the pigeons鴿子 on the fire escape逃逸
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嚇跑了站在逃生梯上的鴿子。
10:20
And the four of them lived生活
in that house near the park公園.
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他們四個住在
一座靠近公園的房子裡,
一個臉上沒有雀斑的少女,
還有一個名字稱為「番薯」的男孩,
10:23
The girl女孩 with no freckles雀斑,
the sweet potato土豆 boy男孩,
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10:26
the basketball籃球 father父親 and darkroom暗室 mother母親
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有雙大手掌的父親
和有一間暗房的母親,
10:28
and they lit發光的 their candles蠟燭
and said their prayers祈禱,
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他們點亮了蠟燭,輕聲祈禱。
10:31
and the corners角落 of the photographs照片 curled捲曲.
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照片的四角
在流逝的時光中開始捲曲。
10:33
One day, some towers fell下跌.
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有一天,塔樓倒塌了,
10:36
And the house near the park公園
became成為 a house under ash, so they escaped逃脫
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靠近公園的房子,
變成了灰燼下的房子,
所以他們背上背包逃走了。
10:40
in backpacks背包, on bicycles自行車 to darkrooms暗室
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騎上單車,逃向了暗房。
10:43
But the loft閣樓 of Wooster伍斯特 Street
was built內置 for an artist藝術家,
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但伍斯特街的那個閣樓,
是為一個藝術家建造的,
10:46
not a family家庭 of pigeons鴿子,
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不是為了流浪鴿棲息而建造的,
10:49
and walls牆壁 that do not reach達到 the ceiling天花板
do not hold保持 in the yelling大呼小叫
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牆壁不再是高到天花板,
房子也頂不住孩子的尖叫聲,
10:52
and the man with basketball籃球 hands
put his weapons武器 out to rest休息.
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有雙大手的男人,棄械投降,
10:56
He could not fight鬥爭 this war戰爭,
and no maps地圖 pointed home.
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他無法打贏這場戰爭,
也沒地圖引導他回家。
11:00
His hands no longer fit適合 his camera相機,
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他的手再也無法操作
他和太太的照相機。
11:02
no longer fit適合 his wife's妻子,
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11:04
no longer fit適合 his body身體.
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他的手也無法聽從他的指揮。
番薯男孩打爛拳頭,塞進他的嘴巴,
11:06
The sweet potato土豆 boy男孩 mashed搗碎
his fists拳頭 into his mouth
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11:08
until直到 he had nothing more to say.
222
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直到他再也說不出話來。
11:10
So, the girl女孩 without freckles雀斑
went treasure寶藏 hunting狩獵 on her own擁有.
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至於那個沒有雀斑的女孩,
則展開了自己的尋寶之旅。
11:14
And on Wooster伍斯特 Street, in a building建造
with the creaky發輾的 hallways走廊
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在伍斯特街那棟
走廊吱吱響的房子裡面,
11:17
and the loft閣樓 with the 12-foot-腳丫子 ceilings天花板
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天花板 12 英尺高的閣樓中,
佈滿很多水槽的暗房裡,
11:19
and the darkroom暗室 with too many許多 sinks
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就在那座平衡色彩的燈架下,
她找到一張紙條,
11:21
under the color-balanced色彩平衡 lights燈火,
she found發現 a note注意,
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11:24
tacked上漲 to the wall with a thumb-tack圖釘,
left over from a time before towers,
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4253
被大頭針釘在牆壁上,
在塔樓建造之前早就被留那裏,
11:28
from the time before babies嬰兒.
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甚至在嬰兒們出生之前就已存在。
11:31
And the note注意 said: "A guy sure loves
the girl女孩 who works作品 in the darkroom暗室."
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紙條上寫著:
「有個男人一定很珍愛
這暗房內的女孩。」
11:37
It was a year before my father父親
picked採摘的 up a camera相機 again.
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這是我父親重拾他的照相機,
之前一年發生的事情,
11:41
His first time out, he followed其次
the Christmas聖誕 lights燈火,
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也是他之後第一次外出拍照,
跟著聖誕節的燈光,
11:43
dotting點睛 their way through通過
New York紐約 City's trees樹木,
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沿著紐約市樹梢上的燈光,
所點綴出來的路,
11:46
tiny dots of light, blinking閃爍 out at him
from out of the darkest最黑暗 darks深色衣物.
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微弱的光點不停的閃爍,
從最暗的暗處指引著他。
11:50
A year later後來 he traveled旅行
across橫過 the country國家 to follow跟隨 a forest森林 fire
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一年後,
他跨過了整個國家
去追尋一場森林大火,
11:54
stayed for a week hunting狩獵
it with his camera相機,
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2512
用他的照相機搜尋火場,
整整記錄了一周的景象。
11:57
it was ravaging糟踏 the West西 Coast
237
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這場大火吞噬了整個西海岸,
11:59
eating 18-wheeler-wheeler trucks卡車 in its stride.
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所到之處數不清的貨櫃車葬身火海。
12:01
On the other side of the country國家,
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在國家的另外一邊,
12:03
I went to class and wrote a poem
in the margins利潤率 of my notebook筆記本.
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我在課堂上的筆記本上
寫下了一首詩。
12:06
We have both learned學到了 the art藝術 of capture捕獲.
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我們兩個彼此都掌握了捕捉的藝術。
12:08
Maybe we are learning學習
the art藝術 of embracing擁抱.
242
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2853
也許我們正在學習了擁抱的藝術。
12:11
Maybe we are learning學習
the art藝術 of letting出租 go.
243
716936
3103
也許我們都是在學習
坦然放手的藝術。
12:16
(Applause掌聲)
244
721357
4666
(鼓掌)
Translated by Ming Lee

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sarah Kay - Poet
A performing poet since she was 14 years old, Sarah Kay is the founder of Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool.

Why you should listen

Plenty of 14-year-old girls write poetry. But few hide under the bar of the famous Bowery Poetry Club in Manhattan’s East Village absorbing the talents of New York’s most exciting poets. Not only did Sarah Kay do that -- she also had the guts to take its stage and hold her own against performers at least a decade her senior. Her talent for weaving words into poignant, funny, and powerful performances paid off.

Sarah holds a Masters degree in the art of teaching from Brown University and an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Grinnell College. Her first book, B, was ranked the number one poetry book on Amazon.com. Her second book, No Matter the Wreckage, is available from Write Bloody Publishing.

Sarah also founded Project VOICE, an organization that uses spoken word poetry as a literacy and empowerment tool. Project VOICE runs performances and workshops to encourage people to engage in creative self-expression in schools and communities around the world.

More profile about the speaker
Sarah Kay | Speaker | TED.com