Spoon River Anthology — Page 14
Their spirits looked upon my torture;
彼らの魂は私の苦しみを見つめていた；
They drank it as it were the water of life;
彼らはそれを命の水であるかのように飲み干した；
With reddened cheeks, brightened eyes,
紅潮した頬、輝く瞳で、
The rising flame of my soul made their spirits gilt,
私の魂の燃え上がる炎が彼らの精神を金色に染め、
Like the wings of a butterfly drifting suddenly into sunlight.
突然陽光の中へと漂い込む蝶の翅のように。
And they cried to me for life, life, life.
そして彼らは生を、生を、生をと私に向かって叫んだ。
But in taking life for myself,
しかし自らのために生を奪い取る中で、
In seizing and crushing their souls,
彼らの魂を掴み砕く中で、
As a child crushes grapes and drinks
子供が葡萄を潰して飲むように、
From its palms the purple juice,
その手のひらから紫の果汁を、
I came to this wingless void,
私はこの翼なき虚空へとたどり着いた、
Where neither red, nor gold, nor wine,
赤も金も葡萄酒も、
Nor the rhythm of life are known.
生の律動も知られることのない場所に。
Minerva Jones
ミネルヴァ・ジョーンズ
I am Minerva, the village poetess,
私はミネルヴァ、村の女詩人、
Hooted at, jeered at by the Yahoos of the street
街のならず者たちにやじを飛ばされ、嘲られた、
For my heavy body, cock-eye, and rolling walk,
その重い体と斜視と揺れる歩き方ゆえに、
And all the more when "Butch" Weldy
そして「ブッチ」ウェルディが
Captured me after a brutal hunt.
残忍な追跡の末に私を捕らえたときはなおさら。
He left me to my fate with Doctor Meyers;
彼は私をマイヤーズ医師のもとに残して運命に委ねた；
And I sank into death, growing numb from the feet up,
そして私は死へと沈んでいった、足元から上へと感覚を失いながら、
Like one stepping deeper and deeper into a stream of ice.
氷の流れの中へとどんどん深く踏み込んでいく者のように。
Will some one go to the village newspaper,
誰か村の新聞社へ行って、
And gather into a book the verses I wrote?—
私が書いた詩を一冊の本にまとめてくれないだろうか？——
I thirsted so for love
私はこれほどにも愛に渇いていた
I hungered so for life!
私はこれほどにも生に飢えていた！
"Indignation" Jones
「憤慨」ジョーンズ
You would not believe, would you
あなたは信じないだろう、そうだろう、
That I came from good Welsh stock?
私がウェールズの良家の出であるとは？
That I was purer blooded than the white trash here?
私がここの白人のくずどもよりも血筋が純粋であったとは？
And of more direct lineage than the
そしてより直系の血統を持つとは、
New Englanders And Virginians of Spoon River?
スプーン・リヴァーのニューイングランド人やヴァージニア人よりも？
You would not believe that I had been to school
私が学校へ通ったことがあるとも、
And read some books.
何冊かの本を読んだことがあるとも信じないだろう。
Vocabulary
- 彼ら
- karera — They; refers to a group of people
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle
- 魂
- tamashii — Soul; spirit; inner essence of a being
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle in Japanese sentences
- 私
- watashi — I; first-person singular pronoun
- 苦しみ
- kurushimi — Suffering; pain; anguish; torment
- を
- wo — Object-marking particle indicating direct object
- 見つめて
- mitsumete — Gazing at; staring intently at something
- いた
- ita — Was doing; past progressive auxiliary verb
- それ
- sore — That; refers to something previously mentioned
- 命
- inochi — Life; one's living existence or vitality
- 水
- mizu — Water; liquid essential for life
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location, or cause
- ある
- aru — To be; to exist (for inanimate things)
- か
- ka — Question particle; or; expresses uncertainty
- よう
- you — Like; as if; resembling something else
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or purpose
- 飲み干し
- nomihoshi — Drinking up completely; draining to the last drop
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending
- 紅潮し
- kouchou shi — Flushing red; blushing with color or emotion
- 頬
- hoho — Cheek; the side of one's face
- 輝く
- kagayaku — To shine; to gleam; to sparkle brightly
- 瞳
- hitomi — Pupil of the eye; eyes expressing emotion
- 燃え上がる
- moeagaru — To blaze up; to burst into flames suddenly
- 炎
- honoo — Flame; fire; burning blaze
- が
- ga — Subject-marking particle in Japanese grammar
- 精神
- seishin — Mind; spirit; mental or psychological state
- 金色
- kin'iro — Golden color; the color of gold
- 染め
- some — Dyeing; coloring; staining with a hue
- 突然
- totsuzen — Suddenly; all at once; without warning
- 陽光
- youkou — Sunlight; rays of the sun; solar light
- 中
- naka — Inside; middle; within a space or group
- へ
- he — Directional particle indicating movement toward
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle in Japanese
- 漂い込む
- tadayoikomu — To drift into; to float gently inward
- 蝶
- chou — Butterfly; a winged insect symbolizing transformation
- 翅
- hane — Wings of an insect; insect wing membrane
- そして
- soshite — And then; and so; connecting sequential events
- 生
- sei / shou — Life; living; existence; being alive
- 向かって
- mukatte — Facing toward; heading in the direction of
- 叫ん
- saken (da) — Shouted; cried out loudly with strong emotion
- だ
- da — Copula; plain form of 'to be'
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; expressing contrast or contradiction
- 自ら
- mizukara — Oneself; by oneself; of one's own accord
- ため
- tame — For the sake of; because of; purpose
- 奪い取る
- ubaitoru — To snatch away; to seize forcefully from someone
- 掴み
- tsukami — Grasping; gripping; seizing tightly with hand
- 砕く
- kudaku — To crush; to smash; to break into pieces
- 子供
- kodomo — Child; children; young person
- 葡萄
- budou — Grape; the fruit of the grapevine
- 潰し
- tsubushi — Crushing; smashing; squeezing something flat
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases
- 飲む
- nomu — To drink; to swallow a liquid
- その
- sono — That; the; referring to something nearby contextually
- 手のひら
- tenohira — Palm of the hand; inner surface of hand
- から
- kara — From; because of; starting point particle
- 紫
- murasaki — Purple; violet color
- 果汁
- kajuu — Fruit juice; liquid extracted from fruit
- この
- kono — This; referring to something close to speaker
- 翼
- tsubasa — Wings; something enabling flight or freedom
- なき
- naki — Without; lacking; having none of something
- 虚空
- kokuu — Void; empty sky; nothingness; vast emptiness
- たどり着い
- tadoritsui (ta) — Arrived at with difficulty; reached after struggle
- 赤
- aka — Red; the color red
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; inclusive particle
- 金
- kin — Gold; the precious yellow metal
- 葡萄酒
- budoushu — Wine; alcoholic beverage made from grapes
- 律動
- ritsudou — Rhythm; rhythmic movement or pulsation
- 知ら
- shira — Knows; is aware of (verb stem form)
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential auxiliary verb ending
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; nominalizer turning verbs into nouns
- ない
- nai — Not; negation; does not exist
- 場所
- basho — Place; location; spot; a specific site
- 村
- mura — Village; small rural settlement or community
- 女詩人
- onna shijin — Female poet; a woman who writes poetry
- 街
- machi — Town; city street; urban neighborhood area
- ならず者
- narazumono — Ruffian; scoundrel; good-for-nothing troublemaker
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or groups
- やじ
- yaji — Heckling; jeering; mocking shouts from crowd
- 飛ばさ
- tobasa — Sending flying; hurling (words or objects)
- れ
- re — Passive verb ending; being done to subject
- 嘲ら
- azakera — Mocked; ridiculed; laughed at scornfully
- 重い
- omoi — Heavy; weighty; burdensome; serious
- 体
- karada — Body; physical form of a person
- 揺れる
- yureru — To sway; to rock; to shake unsteadily
- 歩き方
- arukikata — Way of walking; gait; manner of walking
- ゆえ
- yue — Because of; therefore; for that reason
- 残忍
- zannin — Cruel; brutal; merciless; extremely ruthless
- な
- na — Adjectival particle linking na-adjectives to nouns
- 追跡
- tsuiseki — Pursuit; chase; tracking someone down
- 末
- sue — End; conclusion; after a long process
- 捕らえ
- torae — Capturing; catching; seizing someone or something
- とき
- toki — Time; moment; when something occurs
- なおさら
- naosara — All the more; even more so; increasingly
- 彼
- kare — He; him; referring to a male person
- 医師
- ishi — Medical doctor; physician; licensed medical practitioner
- もと
- moto — Under the care of; in the hands of
- 残し
- nokoshi — Leaving behind; letting remain; keeping something
- 運命
- unmei — Fate; destiny; one's predetermined life course
- 委ね
- yudane — Entrusting; leaving to; surrendering oneself to
- 死
- shi — Death; dying; the end of life
- 沈ん
- shizun (de) — Sinking; submerging; going down into something
- いっ
- it (te) — Going; colloquial contracted form of いって
- 足元
- ashimoto — At one's feet; footing; the ground underfoot
- 上
- ue — Above; on top; upper position or surface
- 感覚
- kankaku — Sensation; sense; feeling; perception
- 失い
- ushinai — Losing; being deprived of something important
- ながら
- nagara — While doing; simultaneously performing two actions
- 氷
- koori — Ice; frozen water
- 流れ
- nagare — Flow; current; stream of water or events
- どんどん
- dondon — Rapidly; steadily; more and more progressively
- 深く
- fukaku — Deeply; to a great depth or degree
- 踏み込ん
- fumikon (de) — Stepping into; wading deeper into something
- いく
- iku — To go; to proceed; continuing onward progressively
- 者
- mono — Person; one who does something; individual
- 誰か
- dareka — Someone; anybody; an unspecified person
- 新聞社
- shinbunsha — Newspaper company; press organization; news outlet
- 行っ
- it (te) — Went; going (to a place)
- 書い
- kai (te) — Wrote; writing something down
- 詩
- shi — Poem; poetry; verse written artistically
- 一冊
- issatsu — One volume; one book; a single bound book
- 本
- hon — Book; a bound publication for reading
- まとめ
- matome — Compiling; summarizing; gathering into one collection
- くれ
- kure — Please do for me; give (imperative/request)
- だろう
- darou — Probably; I wonder; expressing conjecture or question
- これほど
- korehodo — To this extent; this much; so greatly
- 愛
- ai — Love; affection; deep emotional attachment
- 渇い
- kawai (te) — Thirsting; being parched; craving intensely
- い
- i — Being; existing (continuous state auxiliary)
- 飢え
- ue — Hunger; starvation; intense craving for something
- 憤慨
- fungai — Indignation; outrage; intense anger at injustice
- あなた
- anata — You; second-person singular pronoun
- 信じ
- shinji — Believing; trusting; having faith in something
- そう
- sou — So; like that; in that way; it seems
- 良家
- ryouke — Good family; respectable household; well-bred lineage
- 出
- de — Coming from; originating from a place or background
- ここ
- koko — Here; this place; current location
- 白人
- hakujin — White person; Caucasian individual
- くず
- kuzu — Scum; trash; worthless person; refuse
- ども
- domo — Plural suffix with derogatory or humble nuance
- より
- yori — Than; more than; compared to something else
- 血筋
- chisuji — Bloodline; lineage; ancestral line of descent
- 純粋
- junsui — Pure; genuine; unmixed; untainted by other elements
- あっ
- a — Oh; ah; exclamation of realization or surprise
- 直系
- chokukei — Direct lineage; straight line of descent
- 血統
- kettou — Pedigree; bloodline; hereditary lineage or ancestry
- 持つ
- motsu — To hold; to have; to possess something
- 人
- hito / jin — Person; people; human being
- や
- ya — And; listing particle connecting nouns loosely
- 学校
- gakkou — School; educational institution for learning
- 通っ
- kayot (te) — Attending; commuting regularly to a place
- 何冊
- nansatsu — How many books; what number of volumes
- 読ん
- yon (de) — Reading; having read books or texts
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