二、 一局棋戏

她所坐的椅子，在大理石上

象王座闪闪发光；有一面镜子，

镜台镂刻着结葡萄的藤蔓，

金黄的小爱神偷偷向外窥探，

（还有一个把眼睛藏在翅膀下）

把七枝蜡的烛台的火焰

加倍反射到桌上；她的珠宝

从缎套倾泻出的灿烂光泽，

正好升起来和那反光相汇合。

在开盖的象牙瓶和五彩玻璃瓶里

暗藏着她那怪异的合成香料，

有油膏、敷粉或汁液——以违乱神智，

并把感官淹没在奇香中；不过

受到窗外的新鲜空气的搅动，

它们上升而把瘦长的烛火加宽，

又把烛烟投到雕漆的梁间，

使屋顶镶板的图案模糊了。

巨大的木器镶满了黄铜

闪着青绿和橘黄，有彩石围着，

在幽光里游着一只浮雕的海豚。

好象推窗看到的田园景色，

在古老的壁炉架上展示出

菲罗美的变形，是被昏王的粗暴

逼成的呵；可是那儿有夜莺的

神圣不可侵犯的歌声充满了荒漠，

她还在啼叫，世界如今还在追逐，

“唧格，唧格”叫给脏耳朵听。

还有时光的其它残骸断梗

在墙上留着；凝视的人像倾着身，

倾着身，使关闭的屋子默默无声。

脚步在楼梯上慢慢移动着。

在火光下，刷子下，她的头发

播散出斑斑的火星

闪亮为语言，以后又猛地沉寂。

“我今晚情绪不好。呵，很坏。陪着我。

跟我说话吧。怎么不说呢？说呵。

你在想什么？什么呀？ 我从不知你想着什么。想。”

我想我们是在耗子洞里，

死人在这里丢了骨头。

“那是什么声音？”

是门洞下的风。

“那又是什么声音？风在干什么？”

虚空，还是虚空。

“你

什么也不知道？什么也没看见？什么

也不记得？”

我记得

那些明珠曾经是他的眼睛。

“你是活是死？你的头脑里什么也没有？”

可是

呵呵呵呵那莎士比希亚小调——

这么文雅

这么聪明

“如今我做什么好？我做什么好？”

“我要这样冲出去，在大街上走，

披着头发，就这样。我们明天干什么？

我们究竟干什么？”

十点钟要热水。

若是下雨，四点钟要带篷的车。

我们将下一盘棋，

揉了难合的眼，等着叩门的一声。

丽尔的男人退伍的时候，我说——

我可是直截了当，我自己对她说的，

快走吧，到时候了

艾伯特要回来了，你得打扮一下。

他要问你他留下的那笔镶牙的钱

是怎么用的。他给时，我也在场。

把牙都拔掉吧，丽尔，换一副好的。

他说，看你那样子真叫人受不了。

连我也受不了，我说，你替艾伯特想想，

他当兵四年啦，他得找点乐趣，

如果你不给他，还有别人呢，我说。

呵，是吗，她说。差不多吧，我说。

那我知道该谢谁啦，她说，直看着我。

快走吧，到时候了

你不爱这种事也得顺着点，我说。

要是你不能，别人会来接你哩。

等艾伯特跑了，可别怪我没说到。

你也不害臊，我说，弄得这么老相。

（论年纪她才三十一岁）。

没有法子，她说，愁眉苦脸的，

是那药丸子打胎打的，她说。

（她已生了五个，小乔治几乎送了她的命。）

医生说就会好的，可是我大不如从前了。

你真是傻瓜，我说。

要是艾伯特不肯罢休，那怎么办，我说。

你不想生孩子又何必结婚？

快走吧，到时候了

对，那礼拜天艾伯特在家，做了熏火腿，

他们请我吃饭，要我乘热吃那鲜味——

快走吧，到时候了

快走吧，到时候了

晚安，比尔。晚安，娄。晚安，梅。晚安。

再见。晚安。晚安。

晚安，夫人们，晚安，亲爱的，晚安，晚安。

II. A GAME OF CHESS

The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne,

Glowed on the marble, where the glass

Held up by standards wrought with fruited vines

From which a golden Cupidon peeped out

(Another hid his eyes behind his wing)

Doubled the flames of sevenbranched candelabra

Reflecting light upon the table as

The glitter of her jewels rose to meet it,

From satin cases poured in rich profusion;

In vials of ivory and coloured glass

Unstoppered, lurked her strange synthetic perfumes,

Unguent, powdered, or liquid - troubled, confused

And drowned the sense in odours; stirred by the air

That freshened from the window, these ascended

In fattening the prolonged candle-flames,

Flung their smoke into the laquearia,

Stirring the pattern on the coffered ceiling.

Huge sea-wood fed with copper

Burned green and orange, framed by the coloured stone,

In which sad light a carved dolphin swam.

Above the antique mantel was displayed

As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene

The change of Philomel, by the barbarous king

So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale

Filled all the desert with inviolable voice

And still she cried, and still the world pursues,

"Jug Jug" to dirty ears.

And other withered stumps of time

Were told upon the walls; staring forms

Leaned out, leaning, hushing the room enclosed.

Footsteps shuffled on the stair.

Under the firelight, under the brush, her hair

Spread out in fiery points

Glowed into words, then would be savagely still.

"My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.

"Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak.

"What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?

"I never know what you are thinking. Think."

I think we are in rats alley

Where the dead men lost their bones.

"What is that noise?"

The wind under the door.

"What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?"

Nothing again nothing.

"Do

"You know nothing? Do you see nothing? Do you remember

"Nothing?"

I remember

Those are pearls that were his eyes.

"Are you alive, or not? Is there nothing in your head?"

But

O O O O that Shakespeherian Rag -

Its so elegant

So intelligent

"What shall I do now? What shall I do?"

I shall rush out as I am, and walk the street

"With my hair down, so. What shall we do to-morrow?

"What shall we ever do?"

The hot water at ten.

And if it rains, a closed car at four.

And we shall play a game of chess,

Pressing lidless eyes and waiting for a knock upon the door.

When Lils husband got demobbed, I said -

I didnt mince my words, I said to her myself,

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME

Now Alberts coming back, make yourself a bit smart.

Hell want to know what you done with that money he gave you

To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there.

You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,

He said, I swear, I cant bear to look at you.

And no more cant I, I said, and think of poor Albert,

Hes been in the army four years, he wants a good time,

And if you dont give it him, theres others will, I said.

Oh is there, she said. Something o that, I said.

Then Ill know who to thank, she said, and give me a straight look.

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME

If you dont like it you can get on with it, I said.

Others can pick and choose if you cant.

But if Albert makes off, it wont be for lack of telling.

You ought to be ashamed, I said, to look so antique.

(And her only thirty-one.)

I cant help it, she said, pulling a long face,

Its them pills I took, to bring it off, she said.

(Shes had five already, and nearly died of young George.)

The chemist said it would be alright, but Ive never been the same.

You are a proper fool, I said.

Well, if Albert wont leave you alone, there it is, I said,

What you get married for if you dont want children?

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME

Well, that Sunday Albert was home, they had a hot gammon,

And they asked me in to dinner, to get the beauty of it hot -

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME

HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME

Goonight Bill. Goonight Lou. Goonight May. Goonight.

Ta ta. Goonight. Goonight.

Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.