October poem | “我们必须顽强地拥抱喜悦“

We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world.

身处熔炉一般残酷的世界里，我们必须顽强地拥抱我们的喜悦。”

诗句来自美国诗人Jack Gilbert的A Brief For the Defense.

在Eat Pray Love作者Elizabeth Gilbert的采访中读到她引用的这句诗，了解到Jack Gilbert是她最喜爱的诗人，她在经历了海啸般的悲伤之后把 stubborn gladness纹在了身上。

Stubborn gladness是半个世纪之前诗人对冷酷世界的回应。半个世纪之间，人类的悲欢离合并无不同，依然像诗中所描述的那样：Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. 而作为现在的我们，比诗人更不幸的是，无处不在的网络源源不断把坏消息每天送到我们眼前，我们每天被新闻，大部分是负面消息包围。可是另一方面，美好的事物依然存在啊：夏日的黎明、优美的落日、爱人的拥抱、诗人所沉醉的熟睡中的岛屿和寂静中船桨划动水面的声音依然存在。即使在最贫穷的地方，人们依然放声大笑。就像诗人说的：We must admit there will be music despite everything.

愈是清醒而深刻地认识到世间的苦难，愈是不顾一切地拥抱喜悦。这种喜悦远远超越享乐，而拥有崇高的意义。

A Brief for the Defense byJackGilbert

Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies

are not starving someplace, they are starving

somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils.

But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants.

Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not

be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not

be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women

at the fountain are laughing together between

the suffering they have known and the awfulness

in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody

in the village is very sick. There is laughter

every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta,

and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay.

If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction,

we lessen the importance of their deprivation.

We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure,

but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have

the stubbornness to accept our gladness

in the ruthlessfurnace of this world.

To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.

If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down,

we should give thanks that the end had magnitude.

We must admit there will be music despite everything.

We stand at the prow again of a small ship

anchored late at night in the tiny port

looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront

is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning.

To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence

as a rowboatcomes slowly out

and thengoes back is truly worth

all the years of sorrow that are to come.

简单的辩护

悲伤无处不在。屠杀无处不在。如果婴儿不在某个地方挨饿，他们就在其他地方挨饿。苍蝇在他们的鼻孔里。但我们享受我们的生活，因为是上帝想要的。否则，夏日曙光之前的清晨就不会创造得如此美好。孟加拉虎也不会如此威武非凡。那些贫穷的妇女在泉水边一起笑着，置身于他们已知的苦难和未来的凄惨之间，微笑又大笑，尽管村子里有人病入膏肓。每天都有笑声在加尔各答令人恐惧的街头，而女人在孟买的牢笼里笑着。如果我们否认我们的幸福，抵制我们的满足，我们就是在减少他们遭受丧失的意义。我们必须尝试喜悦。我们可以没有快乐，但不能没有喜悦。不能没有欢喜。我们必须顽强地接受我们的快乐，在这个无情的世界的火炉之中。让不公成为我们注意力的唯一尺度，就是在赞美魔鬼。如果上帝的机车让我们筋疲力尽，我们就该感激这结局的庄严恢宏。我们必须承认，无论如何都会有音乐响起。我们又站到了一只小船的船头停泊在深夜的小港口遥望沉睡中的岛屿：水边三家咖啡馆已经打烊，一只裸灯亮着。寂静中听到船桨微弱的声音，当一只划艇慢慢驶来又返回，这些真的值得所有未来岁月的悲欢。往后多年所有的悲伤。

公众号：王恋斯 Lian