【詩歌創作】"Immortal Art" - 2024年六月

 

仄個是2024年六月我寫的，時間不算很久，七月之後我就去健身房跟上教堂了。儘管我從夢中掉回現實，現在的我還是這樣想的。其實這首詩學校期末作業啦（笑死），我想說反正都要寫了那乾脆寫大的，於是一口氣寫了七節，不過花費時間不多，一兩個小時就寫完了。

 

把以前讀過的詩句加我自己的東西攪一攪融合起來，很多片段跟辭彙是從古人的詩來的，怕人看不出來出處還非常貼心地加上註解。我喜歡這樣，喜歡淺淺讀過可以讀懂，深度探討也有其複雜深邃的文字。我寫文喜歡引用跟典故，一直以來都是。

 

寫得沒有很好，不是母語使用者所以不太注重韻律，唸起來沒有節奏感，不過我有試著押韻。

 

我不覺得有人可以理解，又有多少人願意為藝術而生為藝術而死。還有到底要多麼剛好才可以寫出一樣的東西？"Whether one be the emperor, or the street beggar"，我寫是英文版而已。我一直都很喜歡Diogenes的故事。

 

現在放出來實在是太晚了，沒有什麼意義。只希望另外一個擁有同樣價值觀的人可以看到。如果你也認為藝術超越生死，是永恆的存在，那就來吧認識吧。

 

———

 

"Immortal Art"

     You should not despise the poet’s task, divine song, which preserves some sparks of Promethean fire and is the unrivalled glory of the heaven-born human mind and an evidence of our ethereal origin and celestial descent.

—John Milton, Ad Patrem (1632), translated by Merritt Y. Hughes.


Ⅰ
Death, thou ruthless reaper,
Jealous of our vigorous breath and being,
Brutally ripping our lives to pieces,
Ignoring all our proceeding happiness,
Carrying us to the deepest, darkest abyss,
A land where no traveler returns, with heavy mists.

Ⅱ
Death, thou just and blind judgment,
Overlooking every difference, neglecting all power and wealth,
Whether one be the emperor,  or the street beggar,
Whether one be Alexander or Diogenes, Caesar or Brutus;
Snatching away all the living things alike,
To the frozen sleeping chamber, with tranquility and calmness.

Ⅲ
Death, thou heartless executioner,
Disregarding age or blooming youth,
Abducting the young in their fairest prime,
Carrying away the elders to their resting graves,
So cruel and sudden, without a glimpse,
Everything returns to dust and ash.

Ⅳ
But there's one thing, one particular thing,
Can escape the grim mortality;
That is, Art that embeds humanity.
The most beautiful, most enduring Art
Can transcend time and space
To every heart that loves her.

Ⅴ
Art with Humanity can surpass Death,
She overflows with our Emotions, Beauty, or Love;
She’s the very essence of Human Nature,
That defines us as a whole;
She flows through ages and ages,
As Plato’s highest form of Ideal.

Ⅵ
So, Art! Thou sweetest Nymph,
Give me thy celestial honor,
To take thy hands and walk with thee;
Make me thy lyre, thy choir, or thy priest;
To produce the most long-lasting piece
Of many-color’d humanity.

Ⅶ
Or make me thy Immortal Bird,
Which sits on the Golden Bough,
Which is a shield against Death;
So I can sing of Eternal Strain
About what is past, or passing, or to come;
All for thy Heav’nly Art!

———

1. Shakespeare, Hamlet 3.1, 88-89.

2. Alexander conquered the world, whereas Diogenes chosed to only maintain a barrel, a stick and a bag. According to legend, Alexander the Great came to visit the philosopher Diogenes. Alexander wanted to fulfill a wish for Diogenes and asked him what he desired. Diogenes replied, "Stand out of my light." Alexander then declared, "If I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes."

3. Brutus was responsible for the assassination of Caesar.

4. Corresponding Donne’s “The Flea.”

5. Plato’s Symposium.

6. Echoing Milton’s “L’Allegro” 35-36.

7. Echoing Keat’s “Ode to Psyche” and Shelly’s “Ode to the West Wind.”

8.  Echoing Yeats’ “Sailing To Byzantium.”