Aging and Dying

That time of year thou mayst in me behold,

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang

Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,

Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.

In me thou seest the twilight of such day,

As after sunset fadeth in the west,

Which by and by black night doth take away,

Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,

As the death-bed whereon it must expire,

Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,

To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

---Sonnet 73

这是一首深沉、自省的十四行诗。

莎士比亚的十四行诗里经常提到衰老与死亡，但这一首尤其触动人心。摇摇欲坠的枯叶，即将被夜暗吞噬的暮光，行将熄灭的火焰，这些意象是日常所见，但若足够敏感，从中可以感觉到老之将至的宿命。然而，正如落叶令人向往绿荫中好鸟的啘啭、夜暗令人怀念向晚暮光的绚烂、余烬令人追忆篝火的热烈那样，唯有死亡才能令人真正意识到此生的宝贵。

在这首诗中，作者一如既往地姿态卑微，不仅自惭于形秽，更自卑于老迈。尽管如此，令他无比焦灼的“情”退隐于后，之前的殷勤、乞求、哀怨也消失了，他冷静之中若有所思，省察到命之不永、情之可贵。

当写作之时，作者不过年方而立，即便天不假年，距垂垂暮老尚有时日，但对衰老与死亡的省察使他深有所悟。最后的对句应是他对自己的开导，而非对那位游戏人间的“情郎”的劝慰。

perceiv'st是最关键的词罢：若感受不到，那么作者的感慨与深情便是无源之水了。

诗中time和两次出现的death显得有些直白了，因为诗应该用形象来敷写。不过，考虑到文化隔阂，若time作季节解，似乎就不那么抽象了，而第一次写到death时，说的是death's second self：在英人心中，death大概就是那个戴兜帽、披黑斗篷、手执长长镰刀的死神罢，而不是death-bed里那个抽象的概念。