Snake by Theodore Roethke

我看见一条幼蛇
滑出斑驳的树影
悬着，在一块石头上艰难地移动：
一张细嘴，一条舌头
停留在，静止的空气中。
它扭转身体；离开；
其影子弯成两半；
它加速，消失无踪。
我感觉血流缓缓变暖。
我渴望变成那个东西，
这纯粹的，感性形式
或许我，早晚可能。
I saw a young snake glide
Out of the mottled shade
And hang, limp on a stone:
A thin mouth, and a tongue
Stayed, in the still air.
It turned; it drew away;
Its shadow bent in half;
It quickened, and was gone.
I felt my slow blood warm.
I longed to be that thing,
The pure, sensuous form.
And I may be, some time.
"Snake” by Theodore Roethke from The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. © Anchor Books, 1996. Reprinted with permission.