ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com
TED2012

Billy Collins: Everyday moments, caught in time

比利柯林斯: 無時無刻,盡在詩裡

Filmed:
1,325,026 views

結合了幽默和藝術的深度,比利柯林斯這次分享了一些他與聖丹斯頻道合作的計畫,把一些他創作的詩轉化成的有趣的動畫。影片裡包含了其中五首既愉快又生動的詩--還有別錯過最後一首超逗趣的詩喔!
- Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable." Full bio

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

00:15
I'm here to give you
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今天我給各位帶來
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your recommended推薦的 dietary膳食 allowance津貼
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每個人詩的
00:19
of poetry詩歌.
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每日建議攝取量
00:21
And the way I'm going to do that
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我要做的是
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is present當下 to you
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將五首我的創作
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five animations動畫
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用動畫的方式
00:27
of five of my poems.
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呈現給各位
00:29
And let me just tell you a little bit of how that came來了 about.
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先讓我告訴大家這個想法是怎麼來的
00:31
Because the mixing混合 of those two media媒體
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因為要將這兩個媒體素材結合起來
00:33
is a sort分類 of unnatural不自然 or unnecessary不必要 act法案.
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其實是有點不自然又多此一舉
00:36
But when I was United聯合的 States狀態 Poet詩人 Laureate桂冠 --
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但是在我還是美國桂冠詩人的時候...
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and I love saying that.
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我真喜歡這樣說
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(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
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It's a great way to start開始 sentences句子.
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用這句話來開頭很棒
00:47
When I was him back then,
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當我還是"他"的時候
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I was approached接近 by J. Walter沃爾特 Thompson湯普森, the ad廣告 company公司,
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廣告公司智威湯遜來找我
00:53
and they were hired僱用
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他們應該是
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sort分類 of by the Sundance聖丹斯電影節 Channel渠道.
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受了聖丹斯頻道之託
00:57
And the idea理念 was to have me record記錄 some of my poems
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他們的構想是要我錄製一些我的創作
00:59
and then they would find animators動畫
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然後他們會找來動畫師
01:01
to animate活躍 them.
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替我的創作作出動畫
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And I was initially原來 resistant,
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一開始我不答應
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because I always think
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因為我一直認為
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poetry詩歌 can stand alone單獨 by itself本身.
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詩能夠獨自地存在
01:09
Attempts嘗試 to put my poems to music音樂
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以前我有試過
01:12
have had disastrous慘重 results結果,
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要把詩變成音樂
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in all cases.
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結果都很不堪
01:17
And the poem, if it's written書面 with the ear,
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而且如果詩是用耳朵來寫的話
01:20
already已經 has been set to its own擁有 verbal口頭 music音樂
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在創作的時後
01:23
as it was composed.
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它就已經被賦予了口語的音樂性
01:25
And surely一定, if you're reading a poem
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再者
01:27
that mentions提到 a cow,
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如果你在讀一篇提到牛的詩
01:29
you don't need on the facing面對 page
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我想你也不必去
01:31
a drawing畫畫 of a cow.
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看到一頭牛的圖案
01:33
I mean, let's let the reader讀者 do a little work.
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我想說的是,讓讀者發揮點想像力吧
01:36
But I relented心軟 because it seemed似乎 like an interesting有趣 possibility可能性,
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但後來我還是答應了
01:39
and also I'm like a total cartoon動畫片 junkie
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因為這似乎還蠻有趣的
01:42
since以來 childhood童年.
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而且我從小就超愛看卡通
01:45
I think more influential有影響
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對我來說
01:47
than Emily艾米莉 Dickinson迪金森 or Coleridge柯勒律治 or Wordsworth華茲華斯
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華納兄弟,快樂美樂蒂和兔寶寶的卡通
01:50
on my imagination想像力
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對我的想像力的啟發
01:52
were Warner華納 Brothers兄弟, Merrie美日 Melodies旋律
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更勝於艾蜜莉狄更生或是柯勒律治
01:54
and Loony發狂 Tunes曲調 cartoons卡通.
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還是華茲華斯的詩
01:57
Bugs錯誤 Bunny兔子 is my muse沉思.
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我超愛兔寶寶
02:01
And this way poetry詩歌 could find its way onto television電視 of all places地方.
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而且這樣一來,詩就能出現在任何有電視的地方
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And I'm pretty漂亮 much all for poetry詩歌 in public上市 places地方 --
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而我完全支持將詩推及大眾--
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poetry詩歌 on buses公共汽車, poetry詩歌 on subways地鐵,
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不論是在公車上、在地鐵上
02:11
on billboards廣告牌, on cereal穀類 boxes盒子.
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在廣告看板還是在麥片盒上
02:15
When I was Poet詩人 Laureate桂冠, there I go again --
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在我還是桂冠詩人的時候,又來了--
02:19
I can't help it, it's true真正 --
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真的,我也不想--
02:22
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:25
I created創建 a poetry詩歌 channel渠道 on Delta三角洲 Airlines航空公司
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我為達美航空公司做了一個詩的頻道
02:28
that lasted歷時 for a couple一對 of years年份.
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總共播出了兩年
02:30
So you could tune調 into poetry詩歌 as you were flying飛行.
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人們在搭飛機的時候就也可以欣賞詩了
02:33
And my sense is,
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我的想法是
02:35
it's a good thing to get poetry詩歌 off the shelves貨架
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讓詩從書本裡走出來更貼近大家
02:38
and more into public上市 life.
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是個很好的概念
02:40
Start開始 a meeting會議 with a poem. That would be an idea理念 you might威力 take with you.
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你們可以這樣想,就像踏出閱讀詩的第一步
02:43
When you get a poem on a billboard廣告牌 or on the radio無線電
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當你在廣告看板上,廣播裡
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or on a cereal穀類 box or whatever隨你,
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還是麥片盒上等等的看到詩的時候
02:48
it happens發生 to you so suddenly突然
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一切發生得很快
02:50
that you don't have time
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以至於你來不及去
02:52
to deploy部署 your anti-poetry反詩 deflector導流板 shields盾牌
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啟動你在高中的時候學到的
02:56
that were installed安裝 in high school學校.
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詩歌金鐘罩
03:01
So let us start開始 with the first one.
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那我們就開始第一首吧
03:04
It's a little poem called "Budapest布達佩斯,"
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這首小品叫作"布達佩斯"
03:07
and in it I reveal揭示,
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我在裡頭揭露出
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or pretend假裝 to reveal揭示,
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或是假裝揭露出
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the secrets秘密 of the creative創作的 process處理.
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創作歷程的秘密
03:16
(Video視頻) Narration記敘文: "Budapest布達佩斯."
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(影片)旁白: "布達佩斯"
03:18
My pen鋼筆 moves移動 along沿 the page
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我的筆在紙上寫著
03:21
like the snout of a strange奇怪 animal動物
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就像一隻奇獸的嘴巴
03:24
shaped成形 like a human人的 arm
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看起來像隻人類的手臂
03:26
and dressed連衣裙的 in the sleeve
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穿著一件
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of a loose疏鬆 green綠色 sweater毛線衣.
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鬆垮的綠色毛衣
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I watch it sniffing嗅探 the paper ceaselessly不斷,
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我看著它不斷地在紙上嗅著
03:33
intent意圖 as any forager覓食
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就像任何一隻動物
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that has nothing on its mind心神
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心裡頭甚麼也沒有
03:38
but the grubs蠐螬 and insects昆蟲
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只想著能讓他活下去的
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that will allow允許 it to live生活 another另一個 day.
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蠐螬和昆蟲
03:44
It wants only to be here tomorrow明天,
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牠只是想活到明天
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dressed連衣裙的 perhaps也許
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或許可以穿著
03:49
in the sleeve of a plaid格子花呢 shirt襯衫,
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格子花呢衫
03:51
nose鼻子 pressed壓制 against反對 the page,
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鼻子貼著紙面
03:53
writing寫作 a few少數 more dutiful忠實的 lines
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乖乖的又寫了幾句
03:57
while I gaze凝視 out the window窗口
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而我正凝視窗外
03:59
and imagine想像 Budapest布達佩斯
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想像著布達佩斯
04:01
or some other city
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或是其他的
04:03
where I have never been.
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我從來沒去過的城市
04:07
BC公元前: So that makes品牌 it seem似乎 a little easier更輕鬆.
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這樣就比較好瞭解了
04:10
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
04:12
Writing寫作 is not actually其實 as easy簡單 as that for me.
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其實寫作對我來說沒有這麼簡單
04:16
But I like to pretend假裝 that it comes with ease緩解.
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但我想要假裝這是個信手拈來的工作
04:21
One of my students學生們 came來了 up after class, an introductory介紹 class,
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有一個學生在入門課,下課後來找我
04:24
and she said, "You know, poetry詩歌 is harder更難 than writing寫作,"
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她說 "我認為作詩比寫作還難"
04:29
which哪一個 I found發現 both erroneous錯誤 and profound深刻.
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我覺得她說的不對但卻發人深省
04:32
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:35
So I like to at least最小 pretend假裝 it just flows流動 out.
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所以我傾向至少假裝作詩很簡單
04:38
A friend朋友 of mine has a slogan口號; he's another另一個 poet詩人.
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我的一位詩人朋友,他有一句口號
04:41
He says that, "If at first you don't succeed成功,
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他說: "如果一開始寫得不好,
04:44
hide隱藏 all evidence證據 you ever tried試著."
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記得把失敗的證據都藏好"
04:47
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:49
The next下一個 poem is also rather short.
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下一首詩也頗短的
04:52
Poetry詩歌 just says a few少數 things in different不同 ways方法.
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詩就只是用不同的方法詮釋一些東西
04:55
And I think you could boil this poem down to saying,
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我覺得你們可以把這首詩簡化成
04:58
"Some days you eat the bear, other days the bear eats you."
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"有時你吃熊,有時熊吃你"
05:01
And it uses使用 the imagery意象
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這會運用到各位玩
05:03
of dollhouse玩具屋 furniture家具.
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娃娃屋的想像力
05:05
(Video視頻) Narration記敘文: "Some Days."
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(影片)旁白: 有時候
05:09
Some days
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有時候
05:11
I put the people in their places地方 at the table,
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我把人們沿著桌子擺好
05:14
bend彎曲 their legs at the knees膝蓋,
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膝蓋的地方彎著
05:16
if they come with that feature特徵,
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如果買來就是這樣的話
05:18
and fix固定 them into the tiny wooden chairs椅子.
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然後把他們放在小小的木椅上
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All afternoon下午 they face面對 one another另一個,
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一整個下午他們面面相覷
05:25
the man in the brown棕色 suit適合,
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穿咖啡色西裝的男人
05:27
the woman女人 in the blue藍色 dress連衣裙 --
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穿藍色洋裝的女人--
05:29
perfectly完美 motionless不動, perfectly完美 behaved.
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完美的靜止,完美的表現
05:33
But other days I am the one
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但其他時候
05:35
who is lifted取消 up by the ribs肋骨
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我則是那個被提著胳臂
05:37
then lowered降低 into the dining用餐 room房間 of a dollhouse玩具屋
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放到娃娃屋裡
05:41
to sit with the others其他 at the long table.
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和其他人一起坐在長桌邊
05:44
Very funny滑稽.
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這很有趣
05:46
But how would you like it
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但你會不會想要
05:48
if you never knew知道 from one day to the next下一個
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也許有一天
05:51
if you were going to spend it
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你可以花上一整天
05:53
striding大步 around like a vivid生動 god,
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像神一樣闊步
05:56
your shoulders肩膀 in the clouds,
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肩膀就在雲端
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or sitting坐在 down there
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或是只是坐著
06:01
amidst煙雨 the wallpaper牆紙
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夾在壁紙之間
06:03
staring凝視 straight直行 ahead
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用一張小小的塑膠臉
06:05
with your little plastic塑料 face面對?
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直愣愣的看著前方
06:11
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
06:16
BC公元前: There's a horror恐怖 movie電影 in there somewhere某處.
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這部裡面有段挺像恐怖片的
06:19
The next下一個 poem is called forgetfulness健忘,
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下一首叫做遺忘
06:21
and it's really just a kind of poetic詩意 essay文章
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有點像是詩寫成的文章
06:23
on the subject學科 of mental心理 slippage滑移.
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講的是心理失衡
06:27
And the poem begins開始
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詩的開頭是
06:29
with a certain某些 species種類 of forgetfulness健忘
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一種
06:32
that someone有人 called
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人們稱為
06:34
literary amnesia健忘症,
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文學健忘症的健忘症
06:36
in other words, forgetting遺忘 the things that you have read.
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也就是說,把剛才才讀到的東西給忘了
06:43
(Video視頻) Narration記敘文: "Forgetfulness健忘."
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(影片)旁白: 遺忘
06:45
The name名稱 of the author作者 is the first to go,
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一開始是作者的名字
06:48
followed其次 obediently乖乖
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接著總是
06:50
by the title標題, the plot情節,
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書名,情節
06:52
the heartbreaking令人心碎 conclusion結論,
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再來是令人心碎的結局
06:54
the entire整個 novel小說,
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然後整本小說
06:56
which哪一個 suddenly突然 becomes one you have never read,
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突然變成一本素未謀面的書
06:59
never even heard聽說 of.
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甚至連聽都沒聽過
07:01
It is as if, one by one,
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這就好像
07:03
the memories回憶 you used to harbor港口
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記憶的船從熟悉的港口
07:06
decided決定 to retire退休 to the southern南部的 hemisphere半球 of the brain
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統統跑去腦子上的南半球退休去了
07:10
to a little fishing釣魚 village
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跑到一個沒有電話的
07:12
where there are no phones手機.
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小漁村去
07:14
Long ago,
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很久以前
07:16
you kissed the names of the nine muses繆斯 good-bye再見
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你向九位繆斯女神們的名字說了聲再見
07:19
and you watched看著 the quadratic二次 equation方程
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然後看著二次方程式
07:21
pack its bag.
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打包行李走人
07:23
And even now,
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即便現在
07:25
as you memorize記憶 the order訂購 of the planets行星,
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當你試著回想九大行星的順序時
07:27
something else其他 is slipping滑倒 away,
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就有甚麼其他的事物被遺忘了
07:29
a state flower perhaps也許,
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或許是某個州花
07:31
the address地址 of an uncle叔叔,
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一位叔叔的地址
07:33
the capital首都 of Paraguay巴拉圭.
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巴拉圭的首都
07:35
Whatever隨你 it is
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不論是甚麼
07:37
you are struggling奮鬥的 to remember記得,
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你總是很難想得起來
07:39
it is not poised準備 on the tip小費 of your tongue,
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它沒有在你的舌尖上準備好
07:42
not even lurking潛伏
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也沒有埋伏在
07:44
in some obscure朦朧 corner
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你脾臟裡的
07:46
of your spleen.
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某個角落
07:48
It has floated浮動 away
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它已經漂走了
07:50
down a dark黑暗 mythological神話 river
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漂向一條神話裡的黑暗河流
07:53
whose誰的 name名稱 begins開始 with an L
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但就你的記得的
07:56
as far as you can recall召回,
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也只有那條河名字開頭是L而已
07:58
well on your own擁有 way to oblivion遺忘
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在你走向遺忘的道路上
08:01
where you will join加入 those
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你會遇到那些
08:03
who have forgotten忘記了 even how to swim游泳
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連游泳都忘記怎麼游
08:05
and how to ride a bicycle自行車.
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或是腳踏車都不會騎了的人
08:08
No wonder奇蹟 you rise上升 in the middle中間 of the night
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難怪你會在半夜爬起來
08:11
to look up the date日期 of a famous著名 battle戰鬥
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在書裡面去翻找
08:14
in a book on war戰爭.
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一個有名的戰役的日期
08:16
No wonder奇蹟 the Moon月亮 in the window窗口
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也難怪窗外的月亮
08:18
seems似乎 to have drifted漂流 out of a love poem
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怎麼好像
08:21
that you used to know by heart.
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是從一篇你曾經用心體會的詩中漂了出來
08:27
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
08:35
BC公元前: The next下一個 poem is called "The Country國家"
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下一首詩叫做"鄉下"
08:37
and it's based基於 on,
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我的靈感是來自
08:39
when I was in college學院
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我在大學的時候
08:41
I met會見 a classmate同學 who remains遺跡 to be a friend朋友 of mine.
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的一個同學,現在是我的朋友
08:44
He lived生活, and still does, in rural鄉村 Vermont佛蒙特.
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他一直都住在佛蒙特的鄉村裡
08:46
I lived生活 in New York紐約 City.
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而我住在紐約
08:48
And we would visit訪問 each other.
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我們會互相登門拜訪
08:50
And when I would go up to the country國家,
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在我去鄉下的時候
08:52
he would teach me things like deer鹿 hunting狩獵,
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他會教我獵鹿
08:55
which哪一個 meant意味著 getting得到 lost丟失 with a gun basically基本上 --
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其實就是拿著槍然後迷路了--
08:58
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:00
and trout鱒魚 fishing釣魚 and stuff東東 like that.
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還有去釣鱒魚那類的活動
09:02
And then he'd他會 come down to New York紐約 City
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到他來紐約的時候
09:04
and I'd teach him what I knew知道,
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我就會教他我會的事情
09:06
which哪一個 was largely大部分 smoking抽煙 and drinking.
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大部分就是抽菸和喝酒
09:08
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:10
And in that way we traded交易 lore知識 with each other.
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而我們就這樣互相學習著
09:13
The poem that's coming未來 up
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接下來的這首詩
09:15
is based基於 on him trying to tell me a little something
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是有關他要跟我說一些
09:18
about a domestic國內 point of etiquette禮儀
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一開始我很難理解的
09:20
in country國家 living活的
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在鄉村居家生活的
09:22
that I had a very hard time, at first, processing處理.
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小撇步
09:24
It's called "The Country國家."
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這首詩叫做"鄉下"
09:26
(Video視頻) Narration記敘文: "The Country國家."
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(影片)旁白: "鄉下"
09:29
I wondered想知道 about you
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當你跟我說
09:31
when you told me never to leave離開
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不要把易燃的火柴
09:33
a box of wooden strike-anywhere走在任何地方 matches火柴
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隨便丟在家裡
09:36
just lying說謊 around the house,
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因為老鼠會跑進去
09:39
because the mice老鼠 might威力 get into them
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然後生火的時候
09:41
and start開始 a fire.
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我真的很懷疑
09:43
But your face面對 was absolutely絕對 straight直行
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但是當你把錫罐上的蓋子轉開的時候
09:46
when you twisted扭曲 the lid down
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你看起來很正經
09:48
on the round回合 tin
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你跟我說
09:50
where the matches火柴, you said, are always stowed收起.
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這就是我們放火柴的地方
09:53
Who could sleep睡覺 that night?
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有誰能在那天晚上睡著?
09:55
Who could whisk away the thought
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有誰能夠不去想
09:57
of the one unlikely不會 mouse老鼠
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那隻應該不會出現的老鼠
10:00
padding填充 along沿 a cold water pipe
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沿著冰冷的水管爬著
10:03
behind背後 the floral花的 wallpaper牆紙,
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爬到印花壁紙的後面
10:05
gripping a single wooden match比賽
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用他尖銳的牙齒
10:07
between之間 the needles of his teeth?
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咬著一隻木頭火柴?
10:10
Who could not see him rounding四捨五入 a corner,
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誰能不去注意到沿著牆角跑著
10:13
the blue藍色 tip小費 scratching搔抓 against反對 rough-hewn粗糙的 beam光束,
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那藍色的火柴頭摩擦著粗糙的橫樑
10:16
the sudden突然 flare閃光
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突然一陣火焰
10:18
and the creature生物, for one bright, shining閃亮的 moment時刻,
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那生物,就在這明亮閃耀的時刻
10:22
suddenly突然 thrust推力 ahead of his time --
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突然超越了牠的時空--
10:24
now a fire-starter火起動器,
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變成了一個縱火者
10:26
now a torch-bearer火炬手
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一個火炬手
10:28
in a forgotten忘記了 ritual儀式,
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在一個被遺忘的儀式裡
10:30
little brown棕色 druid德魯伊
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小小的棕色祭師
10:32
illuminating照明 some ancient night?
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照亮了幾個亙古的夜晚?
10:34
And who could fail失敗 to notice注意,
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而誰又能不去注意到
10:37
lit發光的 up in the blazing熾烈 insulation絕緣,
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被那閃耀的光線下
10:39
the tiny looks容貌 of wonderment驚愕
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其他老鼠小小的
10:41
on the faces面孔 of his fellow同伴 mice老鼠 --
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驚嚇的表情--
10:44
one-time一次 inhabitants居民
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那些曾經住在
10:46
of what once一旦 was your house in the country國家?
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你鄉下家裡的小老鼠們?
10:50
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
10:53
BC公元前: Thank you.
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謝謝
10:55
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
10:57
Thank you. And the last poem is called "The Dead."
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謝謝。最後一首詩叫做 "亡人"
11:00
I wrote this after a friend's朋友的 funeral葬禮,
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我在一位朋友過世後寫下這首詩
11:02
but not so much about the friend朋友 as something the eulogist頌揚 kept不停 saying,
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但是不是寫
11:04
as all eulogistseulogists tend趨向 to do,
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念弔詞的人常說的那些
11:06
which哪一個 is how happy快樂 the deceased死者 would be
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死去的人們
11:09
to look down and see all of us assembled組裝.
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看到我們聚在一起有多開心
11:11
And that to me was a bad start開始 to the afterlife來世,
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我認為要目睹自己的喪禮還要感到欣慰
11:14
having to witness見證 your own擁有 funeral葬禮 and feel gratified稱心.
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用這樣的方式開始我的來世很差
11:17
So the little poem is called "The Dead."
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所以我把這首詩命名為"亡人"
11:21
(Video視頻) Narration記敘文: "The Dead."
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(影片)旁白: "亡人"
11:23
The dead are always looking down on us,
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他們說
11:26
they say.
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亡人們總是往下看著我們
11:28
While we are putting on our shoes or making製造 a sandwich三明治,
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我們在穿鞋子或是做三明治的時候
11:31
they are looking down
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透過那艘玻璃底的船
11:33
through通過 the glass-bottom玻璃底 boats of heaven天堂
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他們往下看著
11:36
as they row themselves他們自己 slowly慢慢地
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同時他們慢慢划著船
11:38
through通過 eternity永恆.
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直到永恆
11:40
They watch the tops上衣 of our heads
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他們看著我的的頭頂
11:42
moving移動 below下面 on Earth地球.
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在地球上移動著
11:44
And when we lie謊言 down
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當我們躺下來
11:46
in a field領域 or on a couch長椅,
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躺在草地上或是沙發上時
11:48
drugged迷藥 perhaps也許
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可能我們正沉浸在
11:50
by the hum of a warm afternoon下午,
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溫暖的午後時光裡
11:53
they think we are looking back at them,
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他們會覺得我們回看他們
11:56
which哪一個 makes品牌 them lift電梯 their oars
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這會讓他們收起槳來
11:58
and fall秋季 silent無聲
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變得安靜無聲
12:00
and wait like parents父母
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就像父母親一樣等著
12:03
for us to close our eyes眼睛.
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等到我們都閉上了眼睛
12:08
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
12:15
BC公元前: I'm not sure if other poems will be animated動畫.
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我不確定會不會有其他詩被做成動畫
12:17
It took a long time --
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這花了很長一段時間--
12:19
I mean, it's rather uncommon罕見 to have this marriage婚姻 --
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我是說,這種關聯很少見--
12:22
a long time to put those two together一起.
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要花很長一段時間來把這兩個東西結合起來
12:24
But then again, it took us a long time
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不過呢,把輪子和行李箱結合在一起
12:26
to put the wheel and the suitcase手提箱 together一起.
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也花了我們不少時間
12:28
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:31
I mean, we had the wheel for some time.
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我是說,我們已經使用輪子很久了
12:34
And schleppingschlepping is an ancient and honorable光彩 art藝術.
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而在地上拖東西又是一項古老又崇高的藝術
12:37
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
12:40
I just have time
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我還有點時間
12:42
to read a more recent最近 poem to you.
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來念一首近期寫的詩給你們聽
12:45
If it has a subject學科,
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如果有主題的話
12:48
the subject學科 is adolescence青春期.
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主題就是青春期
12:50
And it's addressed解決 to a certain某些 person.
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這是為了某個特定的人寫的
12:52
It's called "To My Favorite喜愛 17-Year-Old-歲 High School學校 Girl女孩."
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這首詩叫做"給我最愛的17歲女高中生"
12:58
"Do you realize實現 that if you had started開始 building建造 the Parthenon帕台農神廟
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你知道如果你從你出生那天開始
13:01
on the day you were born天生,
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就開始蓋帕台農神廟的話
13:03
you would be all doneDONE in only one more year?
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只要再一年你就會完工了嗎?
13:06
Of course課程, you couldn't不能 have doneDONE that all alone單獨.
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當然,你不可能獨自完成
13:08
So never mind心神;
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所以就算了
13:10
you're fine just being存在 yourself你自己.
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你只要做自己就很好了
13:12
You're loved喜愛 for just being存在 you.
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我們喜歡你做你自己
13:15
But did you know that at your age年齡
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但你知道跟你同年的時候
13:17
Judy朱迪 Garland花環 was pulling down 150,000 dollars美元 a picture圖片,
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朱蒂嘉蘭拍個電影就可以賺150,000塊
13:22
Joan of Arc was leading領導 the French法國 army軍隊 to victory勝利
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貞德就在帶領法軍打勝仗
13:26
and Blaise布萊斯 Pascal帕斯卡爾 had cleaned清洗 up his room房間 --
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然後布萊茲帕斯卡把自己的房間整理乾淨了--
13:29
no wait, I mean he had invented發明 the calculator計算器?
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喔不,我是說他發明了計算機
13:33
Of course課程, there will be time for all that
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當然,在你的未來的生命裡
13:35
later後來 in your life,
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類似的事情一樣會發生
13:37
after you come out of your room房間
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就在你走出房間
13:39
and begin開始 to blossom開花,
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然後像花朵一樣綻放
13:41
or at least最小 pick up all your socks襪子.
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或是把你的襪子統統撿起來之後
13:45
For some reason原因 I keep remembering記憶
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基於某些原因我一直想到
13:47
that Lady淑女 Jane Grey灰色 was queen女王 of England英國
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琴格蕾小姐15歲的時候
13:49
when she was only 15.
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就成為了英國女皇
13:52
But then she was beheaded斬首, so never mind心神 her as a role角色 model模型.
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但她之後就被砍頭了,所以不要把她當作偶像
13:55
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
13:58
A few少數 centuries百年 later後來,
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在幾個世紀之後
14:00
when he was your age年齡,
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當舒伯特跟你一樣大的時候
14:02
Franz弗朗茨 Schubert舒伯特 was doing the dishes碗碟 for his family家庭,
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他在家會幫忙洗洗碗
14:06
but that did not keep him
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但那並沒有阻礙他
14:08
from composing構成 two symphonies交響樂, four operas歌劇
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去寫出兩部交響樂和四齣歌劇
14:11
and two complete完成 masses群眾 as a youngster青少年.
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還有兩個完整的彌撒曲
14:14
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:16
But of course課程, that was in Austria奧地利
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不過呢,那是在奧地利
14:18
at the height高度 of Romantic浪漫 lyricism抒情,
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在浪漫抒情時代高漲的年代
14:21
not here in the suburbs郊區 of Cleveland克利夫蘭.
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不是在一個克里夫蘭的郊區裡
14:23
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:25
Frankly坦率地說, who cares管它
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老實說,誰會在乎
14:27
if Annie安妮 Oakley奧克利 was a crack裂紋 shot射擊 at 15
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安妮歐克麗在15歲就成神射手
14:30
or if Maria瑪麗亞 Callas卡拉斯 debuted首次亮相 as Tosca托斯卡 at 17?
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或瑪麗亞卡拉絲17歲就在托斯卡裡初試啼聲
14:34
We think you're special特別 just being存在 you --
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我們覺得你做自己就可以很特別--
14:37
playing播放 with your food餐飲 and staring凝視 into space空間.
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玩玩食物或是在盯著空氣發呆
14:40
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:43
By the way,
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對了
14:45
I lied說謊 about Schubert舒伯特 doing the dishes碗碟,
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舒伯特洗碗的事我是騙你的
14:48
but that doesn't mean he never helped幫助 out around the house."
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不過並不代表他從來不做家事
14:51
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:53
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
14:55
Thank you. Thank you.
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謝謝
14:58
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
15:03
Thanks謝謝.
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謝謝
15:05
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by ChiaWei Liu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Billy Collins - Poet
A two-term U.S. Poet Laureate, Billy Collins captures readers with his understated wit, profound insight -- and a sense of being "hospitable."

Why you should listen

Accessibility is not a word often associated with great poetry. Yet Billy Collins has managed to create a legacy from what he calls being poetically “hospitable.” Preferring lyrical simplicity to abstruse intellectualism, Collins combines humility and depth of perception, undercutting light and digestible topics with dark and at times biting humor.

While Collins approaches his work with a healthy sense of self-deprecation, calling his poems “domestic” and “middle class,” John Taylor has said of Collins: “Rarely has anyone written poems that appear so transparent on the surface yet become so ambiguous, thought-provoking, or simply wise once the reader has peered into the depths.”

In 2001 he was named U.S. Poet Laureate, a title he kept until 2003. Collins lives in Somers, New York, and is an English professor at City University of New York, where he has taught for more than 40 years.

Credits for the animations in this talk:

"Budapest," "Forgetfulness" and "Some Days" -- animation by Julian Grey/Head Gear

"The Country" -- animation by Brady Baltezor/Radium

"The Dead" -- animation by Juan Delcan/Spontaneous
 

More profile about the speaker
Billy Collins | Speaker | TED.com