The Hill We Climb — Amanda Gorman

在刚刚结束的第59届美国总统就职典礼中，22岁的诗人戈曼 (Amanda Gorman) 的诗歌朗诵无疑是最大的亮点之一。戈曼 16岁时就成为家乡洛杉矶的桂冠诗人，19岁当选全美首位“青年桂冠诗人” (National Youth Poet Laureate)。在欧美国家，桂冠诗人的职责之一是为庆典作诗，而由桂冠诗人为美国总统诗意开启四年任期的传统始于1961年肯尼迪就任总统前邀请 Robert Frost 作诗并现场朗诵。60年后，戈曼成为美国历史上最年轻的在总统就职典礼上朗诵的诗人。在这首专门为这次盛典创作的诗中，诗人借国会山 (Capitol Hill) 这一背景——既是她所站立的地方，美国民主的象征，也是数周前的骚乱现场，结合个人经历，将美国经历的悲痛、面临的挑战、重燃的希望一一娓娓道来。

The Hill We Climb

Mr. President, Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff,

Americans, and the world,

When day comes we ask ourselves:

Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?

The loss we carry, a sea we must wade.

We've braved the belly of the beast.

We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.

And the norms and notions of what just is isn't always justice.

And yet, the dawn is ours before we knew it.

Somehow we do it.

Somehow we've weathered and witnessed

A nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished.

We, the successors of a country and a time

Where a skinny black girl

Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother

Can dream of becoming president

Only to find herself reciting for one.

And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine,

But that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge our union with purpose,

To compose a country committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.

And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between us,

But what stands before us.

We close the divide because we know to put our future first.

We must first put our differences aside.

We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another.

We seek harm to none and harmony for all.

Let the globe, if nothing else,

Say this is true

That even as we grieved, we grew;

That even as we hurt, we hoped;

That even as we tired, we tried;

That we will forever be tied together victorious.

Not because we will never again know defeat,

But because we will never again sow division.

ure tells us to envision

That everyone shall sit under their own vine in a fig tree

And no one shall make them afraid.

If we're to live up to our own time,

Then victory won't lie in the blade,

But in all the bridges we've made.

That is the promise to glade,

The hill we climb if only we dare it

Because being American is more than a pride we inherit;

It's the past we step into and how we repair it.

We've seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,

Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy,

And this effort very nearly succeeded.

But while democracy can be periodically delayed,

It can never be permanently defeated.

In this truth, in this faith, we trust

For while we have our eyes on the future,

History has its eyes on us.

This is the era of just redemption

We feared at its inception.

We did not feel prepared to be the heirs

Of such a terrifying hour.

But within it, we found the power

To author a new chapter

To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.

So while once we asked

How could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?

Now we assert

How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was

But move to what shall be

A country that is bruised,

But whole, benevolent, but bold, fierce, and free.

We will not be turned around or interrupted by intimidation

Because we know our inaction and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation.

Our blunders become their burdens,

But one thing is certain,

If we merge mercy with might and might with right,

Then love becomes our legacy and change our children's birthright.

So let us leave behind a country

Better than the one we were left

With every breath from my bronze-pounded chest

We will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.

We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the West.

We will rise from the wind-swept Northeast where our forefathers first realized revolution.

We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Midwestern states.

We will rise from the sun-baked South.

We will rebuild, reconcile, and recover

In every known nook of our nation,

In every corner called our country,

Our people, diverse and beautiful,

Will emerge battered and beautiful.

When day comes,

We step out of the shade aflame and unafraid.

The new dawn blooms as we free it,

For there is always light,

If only we're brave enough to see it,

If only we're brave enough to be it.

我们走过的山峦

（美）阿曼达·戈曼      译者: 丁建新/中山大学

当出发的日子来临，我们将自己追问

在这绵延不断的林荫里，何处是阳光

我们身负重伤，只因跋山涉水

我们直面野兽的咆哮

我们深知，寂静并不意味着和平

理所当然的陈规陋习，并不代表正义之光

然而，黎明早就属于我们，尽管我们全然不晓

也许我们敢拼才会赢

也许我们忍辱负重，目睹了所有的苦难

我们哪里会山河破碎，只不过是壮志未酬

我们是这个国家和时代的传承者

一个骨瘦如柴的黑人女孩

祖辈曾经卖身为奴，单亲养大

可以梦想荣登大位

尊至一人之遥

是的，我们远非光鲜铮亮，也早已远离原始蛮荒

但我们的联盟还很难说是完美无缺

我们努力铸造，不忘方向

一个不同文化、肤色、性格、阶层都能相容相守的家乡

我们的眼中，不是阻隔我们的山峦

而是我们应该一起面对的挑战

我们摒弃分歧，因为我们懂得要着眼未来

我们放下干戈，深情相拥

我们不想寻仇结恨，只想和谐双赢

让世界感同身受

历经苦难，我们仍然成长

历经伤痛，却信心满满

身心疲惫，却屡试不爽

心手相连，永不言败

不是因为我们没有尝过挫折的滋味

而是因为我们永远不愿播种分歧

《圣经》让我们一起向往

每个人心中都有一颗百年古树，藤蔓缠身

没有人能让我们心存恐慌

如果我们都能不负时代

那么成功就不要依靠刀锋相向

而是依靠我们曾经相助搭桥

因为林中空地的小憩

我们才有爬往山顶的勇气

身为一名美国人，那不止意味着我们身上继承祖先的荣光

而是我们辉煌的过往，以及我们从善如流的慷慨

有一种力量，会撕裂我们的家园，而不是将光芒分享

它将民主延误，将家国撕得嘚嘚响

而且还几近得逞

然而民主只会暂时地搁浅

哪会永久地击败

我们对这种信念，坚信不渝

因为我们展望未来的同时，

历史也会将我们照亮

我们身处一个需要救赎的时代

我们害怕它的肇始

我们不愿做一个恐慌时代的后人

我们置身其中

找寻开启新篇的力量

给我们自己带来希翼与欢笑

有人会问

我们怎么可能躲过灭顶之灾？

我却信誓旦旦：灾难永远无法将我们战败

我们不会退缩到过往

而会走向我们的未来

满身淤血的国度啊

从来都是这样完整、慈祥、勇毅，坚韧而又随意

我们不会被恐惧打败

因为我们知道，无所作为与因循保守

只会愧对我们的子孙后代

我们今天酿成的大错，明天他们将负债累累

有一件事情我们确信无疑

如果我们能将同情与力量相融，力量与正义整合

那么爱将成为我们永远的遗产，改变我们子子孙孙与生俱来的权利

让我们留下一个比我们所继承的

更加美好的世界

愿我们呼吸的胸膛，像青铜一样刚强

将这伤痕累累的世界，变得星光闪耀

我们从西部峻峭的山峦出发

从狂风呼啸的东北出发，那里曾是我们的祖辈首义的地方

从星罗棋布的中西部湖区出发

从南方如火的艳阳中出发

重建、妥协、康复

从我们伟大家园的每一寸土地出发

从它的每一个角落出发

我们伟大的人民，那么地多元、靓丽

我们将会从伤痕中重新站起，留下令人动容的篇章

当出发的日子来临

我们会从林荫中走出，火光熊熊，面无惧色

当黎明来临，我们会逐渐释怀所有

因为光明就在前方

只要我们眼中有它

心中有它