’溫’’’布’’斯
(GWENDOLYN BROOKS)

   
The Mother

 

         ’溫’’’布’’斯(1917  )生’堪薩斯’’托皮’’’’’哥’’民’中’’’’’僅13歲’’’’國’童’’雜’’’’’第’首詩’’’’’’’本詩集’’’’布’斯維爾’’條街’ (1945)’’’’’’’’(1949)’’’豆’’’’ (1960)’’詩集’(1963)’’’麥’’(1968)’’暴亂’(1969)’’’’照’’ (1970) ’’’’’ (1971)’’溫’’’布’’斯’詩集’’’’’’’獲普’’獎’’’’’數詩’’黑’’生’’黑’’問’’


    ’次’産不’讓’忘’’

    ’’’’曾’有’而’不’’’’’

    毛’’’’’本’有毛’’粘濕’肉團’

    ’未觸撫’’’’手’’’’

    ’’不’不’’’’不’打’們’

    不’用’’’’們’’’’’’’們’心’

    ’’不’’’’’’’’’’

    ’趕’’’’’’鬼魂’

    ’’不’’’’香’歎’離’’們’

    ’不’’著’母’目’’’餵’們’心’

    ’風’中我聽’我那’’’’’殺’’’’們’’喚’

    我’變’’’’我’撫慰

    我那’體模’’’’們’’’們永遠不’’’’’’’’

    我說’親’’’假’我犯’’’假’我奪’’

    ’們’’’

    未足月’奪走’們’生’’

    假’我剝奪’’們’誕生’’’’

    ’們’’’嬰’之’’’們’’戲’

    ’們笨’’’妙’戀’’’們’喧’’’’’’’

          ’’’’

    假’我扼殺’’們最’’’’’

    我’’’’’’’’’動中我’’’’’’

    ’而爲什麽我該’’’

    ’歎那不’我’’’?’’

    ’’’論’’’們’’’’’

    ’’’切’說’

    ’們’未’創’’’’

 

    ’我’’’種說’

    ’有’’’Ⅷ’我該’麽講’’樣把’’說’’

    ’們生’’’’’們有身體’’們’’’’

    ’’’們’未’’’’’’未’劃做什麽’’’未

          Z’’

    ’’’我’’們’體’

    ’’’我’’’們’雖說不’’切’而’我’’’’

          ’’’’’們

          ’體’

Abortions will not let you forget.
You remember the children you got that you
       did not get,
The damp small pulps with a little or with no
       hair,
The singers and workers that never handled
       the air.
You will never neglect or beat
Them, or silence or buy with a sweet.
You will never -wind up the sucking-thumb
Or scuttle off ghosts that come.
You will never leave them, controlling your
       luscious sigh,
Return for a snack of them, with gobbling
       mother-eye.

I have heard in the voices of the wind the
       voices of my dim killed children.
I have contracted. I have eased
My dim dears at the breasts they could never
       suck.
I have said, Sweets, if I sinned, if I seized
Your luck
And your lives from your unfinished reach,
If I stole your births and your names,
Your straight baby tears and your games.
Your stilted or lovely loves, your tumults, your
       marriages, aches, and your deaths,
If I poisoned the beginnings of your breaths,
Believe that even in my deliberateness I was
       not deliberate.
Though why should I whine,
Whine that the crime was other than mine?

Since anyhow you are dead.
Or rather, or instead,
You were never made.
But that too, I am afraid,
Is faulty: oh, what shall I say, how is the truth
        to be said?
You were born, you had body, you died.
It is just that you never giggled or planned or
        cried.

Believe me, I loved you all.
Believe me, I knew you, though faintly, and I
       loved, I loved you All.