Warning/警告

Warning

Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we’ve no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I’m tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people’s gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and

beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practise a little now?

So people who know me are not too shocked and surprise

When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

当我老了...

警告

译/ 朵云

当我变成了老太太，我要穿紫色的衣服

再戴顶红色的帽子，不搭配就不搭配！

我要用退休金来买白兰地和夏天的手套

还有丝绒凉鞋，然后说我们没钱买黄油

当我累了，我要就地休息坐在马路边上

并在商店里大口品尝样品，按响警报铃

我要用我的拐杖沿路划过公共围栏

来补偿我青年时期的循规蹈矩

我要穿着拖鞋走进雨中

到别人家花园采摘花草

我还要学会怎么吐唾沫

你可以穿着难看的衣，多长几斤肉

并一口气吃下三磅香肠

或者整个星期只有面包和泡菜

然后囤积铅笔水笔和啤酒垫

以及其他的七七八八统统放进盒子里

但是现在我们必须要保持衣着干爽

按时缴纳房租并不在大街上说脏话

以给孩子们树立一个好榜样

我们要会友共进晚餐，还要每天读报

或许我现在就该逐渐开始练习

以免将来吓着我周围的人们，

只因我突然老了，开始穿戴紫色的衣服