2014-05-01

【Aiden in English】

        Out of all years our teacher, Mr. Holloran, has worked at Montgomery ES and has never had a 5th grade play before. Unfortunately, the time has finally come for the show, A Visit to Colonial America in the 17th Century. It's in the year of 2014. What a coincidence! That's right, the very year I'm in the 5th grade.

        I'm stuck as an American poet who wrote a ton of famous poems called Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), wearing a freaking, itchy, blistering hot costume. Although I am certainly not a poet, I like his way of playing with words in his poem "A Psalm of Life". "Art is long, and Time is fleeting", which is absolutely true considering that the life is too short. "In the bivouac of life" also seems to be so wise that life is not permanent (unfortunately).

        Worst of all, I don't even have any funny lines. What's a good actor with a good voice and totally calm during the show but without sense of humor. However, it really didn't matter what lines I had. The true challenge was to survive the night without making a huge embarrassment on me, which is harder than it seems because there were a lot of strict people like Mom in the audience. Luckily, I kept my cool and breezed past my lines easily. But my part wasn't over. I had (Mom had) volunteered (forced me) to play my alto saxophone in the band/orchestra for the songs. And let me tell you this, the music melody lacked of excitement, had dull tone color or timbres and didn't bring out particular subtle rhythmic inflections on the instruments we played together. It just was so simple that it started to get boring. The only thing keeping me awake was the constant flashing of cameras. And when I mean constant, I mean constant! Mom was taking a whirlwind of pictures 24/7. So I guess I would never forget this moment. Well, Mom won't allow it anyway.

【紅霞譯文】

        在以往蒙哥馬利小學教學生涯中，我們班主任老師豪勒阮先生從未參加過五年級學生戲劇活動。破天荒地，2014年“回顧十七世紀殖民時期的美國”舞台表演逮他個正着，無巧不成書！這一年正值我五年級。

        我扮演的角色是一位曾經寫過許多著名詩歌的美國詩人亨利·沃茲沃斯·朗費羅(1807-1882)，需要穿戴怪裡怪氣、撓人痒痒、好生痱子的戲服。我雖然本身不是詩人，但卻喜愛像《人生禮讚》中富有悟性的詩句：“智藝無窮，時光飛逝”，堪稱至理名言，人生苦短呵；“人生到處紮寨安營”，可謂聰明睿智，生命無常耶(十分無奈)。

        遺憾的是，我既沒有搞笑作秀的台詞，又不具備優秀演員的漂亮嗓子，因此本人表現平淡，一點幽默感也談不上。其實，我有什麼樣的台詞並非重要，真正考驗我能耐的是如何擺脫尷尬窘境。說起來容易做起來難，尤其要面對象媽媽一樣善於挑剔的觀眾。好在我沉着應對，有板有眼地道出台詞。不過，我的戲份尚不止這些，事先我(媽媽)主動(被迫)要求參加管弦樂隊，吹奏中音薩克斯管。坦率地說，音樂旋律缺乏激情，再加上音色欠佳，音調單一，各種配器協調性有待提高，因此令我倍感枯燥乏味，唯一能讓我保持清醒的倒是相機鎂光燈閃爍不停，我這裡所指的“不停”，意思就是沒完沒了！媽媽每天24小時／每周7天旋風式拍照，從無間斷。既然如此，我想無論如何自己都會記住此番經歷，對了，多虧媽媽不斷鞭策，今宵難忘。

【A Psalm of Life】

--by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

What the Heart of the Young Man said to the Psalmist. 

              Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 

            "Life is but an empty dream! " 

            for the soul is dead that slumbers, 

            And things are not what they seem. 

            Life is real! Life is earnest! 

            And the grave is not its goal; 

            "Dust thou art, to dust returnest, " 

            Was not spoken of the soul. 

            Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

            Is our destined end or way; 

            But to act, that each to-morrow 

            Find us farther than to-day. 

            Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

            And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

            Still, like muffled drums, are beating 

            Funeral marches to the grave. 

            In the world's broad field of battle, 

            In the bivouac of Life, 

            Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

            Be a hero in the strife! 

            Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! 

            Let the dead Past bury its dead! 

            Act, - act in the living Present! 

            Heart within, and God o'erhead! 

            Lives of great men all remind us 

            We can make our lives sublime, 

            And, departing, leave behind us 

            Footprints on the sands of time; 

            Footprints, that perhaps another, 

            Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 

            A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 

            Seeing, shall take heart again. 

            Let us, then, be up and doing, 

            With a heart for any fate; 

            Still achieving, still pursuing, 

            Learn to labor and to wait. 

【人生禮讚】

--亨利‥沃茲沃斯‥朗費羅

年輕人與詩人真誠對白

            不要在哀傷的詩句里告訴我：

            “人生不過是一場幻夢！”

            靈魂睡着了，就等於死了，

            事物的真相與外表不同。

            人生是真切的！人生是實在的！

            它的歸宿決不是荒墳；

            “你本是塵土，必歸於塵土，”

            這是指軀殼，不是指靈魂。

            我們命定的目標和道路

            不是享樂，也不是受苦；

            而是行動，在每個明天

            都超越今天，跨出新步。

            智藝無窮，時光飛逝；

            這顆心，縱然勇敢堅強，

            也只如鼙鼓，悶聲敲動着，

            一下又一下，向墳地送喪。

            世界是一片遼闊的戰場，

            人生是到處紮寨安營；

            莫學那聽人驅策的啞畜！

            做一個威武善戰的英雄！

            別指望將來，不管它多可愛！

            把已逝的過去永久掩埋！

            行動吧--趁着活生生的現在！

            心中有赤心，頭上有真宰！

            偉人的生平啟示我們：

            我們能夠生活得高尚，

            而當告別人世的時候，

            留下腳印在時間的沙上；

            也許我們有一個兄弟

            航行在莊嚴的人生大海，

            遇險沉了船，絕望的時刻，

            會看到這腳印而振作起來。

            那麼，讓我們起來干吧，

            對任何命運要敢於擔戴；

            不斷地進取，不斷地追求，

            要善於勞動，善於等待。