亚麻堤一年到头在镇区中心①
溃烂；头沉沉的绿色亚麻腐烂
在那里，压倒在大片草皮之下。
它天天为太阳毒人的溽热所苦。
水泡咕噜噜优雅地漱口，青蝇
用嗡鸣绕臭味织了层强韧的薄纱；
还有蜻蜓，有斑斑点点的蝴蝶。
但最棒的是有蛙卵温暖的稠液
像凝成一团的水珠在岸边的
凉荫中生长。在这里，每个春天
我都会装满一罐罐胶状的黑点
在家里的窗台或是学校的架子上
一字排开，等待着观察着直到
渐渐肥大的斑点骤变成灵敏
游动的蝌蚪。沃尔斯老师告诉
我们为什么青蛙爸爸叫牛蛙，
怎样呱呱叫，青蛙妈妈又怎样
生下成百上千的小卵，也就是
蛙卵。你还能用青蛙断定天气，
因为它们日下呈黄色而雨中
呈棕色。

后来在一个大热天，草丛里牛粪
散发着恶臭，这些怒冲冲的青蛙
侵入亚麻堤；我俯身穿过树篱
向一片未曾听过的粗声聒噪
走去。低音合唱中空气凝滞。
堤坝下凸肚的青蛙在草皮上交合；
松脖子像船帆起伏。有的蹦跳着：
啪啦声、扑通声是猥亵的胁迫。蹲着的
俨然是泥榴弹，生硬的头在放屁。
我恶心，转身，跑开。众烂泥大王
正会师此处准备复仇，我知道
要是我手浸水中蛙卵会抓住它。

①镇区（townland）：爱尔兰历史久远的地理区划，现为最小行政区划，大小
由几英亩到几千英亩不等，几个至几十个镇区可组成一个地方自治区（parish），
北爱尔兰的情况应该相同或相似。


DEATH OF A NATURALIST

All year the flax-dam festered in the heart
Of the townland; green and heavy headed
Flax had rotted there, weighted down by huge sods.
Daily it sweltered in the punishing sun.
Bubbles gargled delicately, bluebottles
Wove a strong gauze of sound around the smell.
There were dragon-flies, spotted butterflies,
But best of all was the warm thick slobber
Of frogspawn that grew like clotted water
In the shade of the banks. Here, every spring
I would fill jampots full of the jellied
Specks to range on window-sills at home,
On shelves at school, and wait and watch until
The fattening dots burst into nimble-
Swimming tadpoles. Miss Walls would tell us how
The daddy frog was called a bullfrog
And how he croaked and how the mammy frog
Laid hundreds of little eggs and this was
Frogspawn. You could tell the weather by frogs too
For they were yellow in the sun and brown
In rain.

Then one hot day when fields were rank
With cowdung in the grass the angry frogs
Invaded the flax-dam; I ducked through hedges
To a coarse croaking that I had not heard
Before. The air was thick with a bass chorus.
Right down the dam gross-bellied frogs were cocked
On sods; their loose necks pulsed like sails. Some hopped:
The slap and plop were obscene threats. Some sat
Poised like mud grenades, their blunt heads farting.
I sickened, turned, and ran. The great slime kings
Were gathered there for vengeance and I knew
That if I dipped my hand the spawn would clutch it.

参考译文:(陈黎先生译文)

博物學者之死
（Death of a Naturalist）

終年亞麻堤在鎮地的中央
潰爛；青綠又沈甸甸的
亞麻早在那裡腐敗，被巨大的草皮壓得抬不起頭來。
每天它飽受太陽熱氣的懲罰。
氣泡優雅地漱著喉，青蠅
在氣味四周編織了一層堅固的聲音的薄紗。
有蜻蜓，有斑紋點點的蝴蝶，
但最棒的是蛙卵溫厚的黏液
在河岸蔭涼處生長
像凝結的水。在這裡，每年春天
我都會裝滿好幾個果醬罐的果凍似的斑點
置放在家裡的窗台上，
在學校的架子上，然後等著看
那些日漸肥大的斑點突變為
身手矯健的蝌蚪。華斯太太會告訴我們
何以青蛙爸爸稱做牛蛙，
還有他如何呱叫，還有青蛙媽媽如何
產下數百個小卵，這就是
蛙卵。你也可經由青蛙去預測天氣
因為它們在陽光下呈黃色而在雨中
呈棕褐色。

而後在一個大熱天當田野的草叢間
堆滿了牛糞憤怒的青蛙
侵入亞麻堤；我彎身快步穿過樹籬
朝我從未聽過的粗啞蛙聲走去。
大氣中充滿低音的合唱。
就在堤防底下肚皮肥大的蛙們堆擠在
草皮上；它們寬鬆的脖子像船帆一樣鼓動著。有些在跳躍：
擊掌聲和撲通入水聲是淫穢的威脅。有些坐著
活像泥製的手榴彈。它們魯鈍的頭放出臭氣。
我作嘔，轉身，跑開。這些偉大的黏液國王們
聚集在那兒準備復仇，而我知道
如果我把手浸入水中蛙卵會將它一把抓住。