【當你年老】葉芝
呂傑 譯 (April 23, 2016)

c 2016 杭州湖墅STL 呂傑
 

當你年老，鬢斑，睡意正濃
爐旁打盹，請取詩書這一本
慢慢細讀：夢回你柔意雙眸
曾經脈脈，濃蔭重重含情深；
多少人愛你歡暢優雅的閃光瞬間
愛慕你的美麗，不論假意或心真；
但唯有一人愛你朝聖的靈魂
愛你漸衰的臉上愁苦的風痕；
那人垂身低頭在熾紅的爐邊
憂傷地低訴那愛神如何逃遁：
它漫步信走於高高的群山巔，
把臉躲藏在一群星星的中間。

註：在壁爐前垂身的，我的理解並非如很多人認為的是女主角，而是葉芝本人的幻影：在詩篇被讀時，幻化出來，便細細地訴說，那愛是如何逃遁的。。。

英文原文：
【When you are old】
William Butler Yeats
1865.6.13 ~ 1939.1.28

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim Soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.