Spell of Rising Moon

摄人心魄的月出

Here is a hill near my home that I often climb atnight.

我家附近有座小山。夜晚时分，我常去爬山。

The noise of the city is far-off murmur.

此时,都市的喧嚣变成了渺茫的低语。

In the hush of the dar.

在寂静的黑暗中，

I share the cheer- fulness of crickets and confidenceof owls.

我分享着蟋蟀的欢乐和猫头鹰的安闲。

But it is the drama of the moon rise that I come to see.

不过,我来此观看的是月出的奇观。

For that restores in me a quiet and clarity that the city spends too freely.

它唤起我内心那份早已消失殆尽的安宁和澄净。

From this hill I have watched many moons rise.Each one has its own mood.

在这个小山上,我多次观赏到月亮升起。每一次都有其独特的意蕴。

There have been broad,confident harvest moons in autumn;

秋天的月亮博大而安闲，

shy,misty moons in spring;

春天的月亮羞怯而朦胧，

lonely,white winter moons rising into the utter silence of an ink-black sky,

冬天的月亮洁白而孤独在漆黑沉寂的天空冉冉升起，

and smoke-smudged orange moons over the dry fields of summer.

夏天桔黄色的月亮在烟雾的笼罩下，俯瞰着干涸的田野。

Each,like fine music excited my heart and then calmed my soul.

每一次月出都像一首美妙的乐章，震撼着我的心灵，然后又使我的灵魂归于平静。

We who live indoors have lost contact with the moon,

我们深居室内，早已与月亮停止了交流。

yet it still tugs at our minds.

但月亮依旧牵动着我们的心。

If we unexpectedly encounter the full moon,huge and yellow over the horizon,

倘若我们不经意间看到一轮满月，大大的，黄黄的，悬挂在天际，

we are helpless but to stare back at its commanding presence.

谁都禁不住回首再度凝望--月亮之美摄人心魄。

And the moon has gifts to bestow upon those who watch.

而月亮也会将礼物馈赠给它的观赏。

I learned about its gifts one July evening in the mountains.

一个七月的夜晚,我在大山里感受到了月亮的馈赠。

My car had mysteriously stalled,and I was stranded and alone.

我的车不知怎地熄了火我被孤零零地抛在野外。

The sun had set,and I was watching what seemed to be the bright-orange glow of a forest fire

此时,太阳已经落山，我看到森林似乎着了火,窜出桔红色的火焰,

beyond a ridge to the east.

在东边山梁那边。

Suddenly,the ridge itself,seemed to burst into flame.

忽然，山梁自身仿佛也熊熊燃烧起来。

Then,the rising moon huge and red

紧接着，硕大无比，红彤彤的初升的月亮

grotesquely mis- shapen by the dust and sweat of the summer atmosphere,

在夏日空气的尘埃和汗水的蒸腾下，此时的月亮成了变形的怪物。

loomed up out of the woods.

攀上了林中的树梢。

Dogs at nearby farmhouses barked nervously,

附近农舍的狗神经质地吠叫着，

as if this strange light had a wakened evil spirits in the weeds.

似乎古怪的亮光唤醒了草丛中的幽灵。

But as the moon lifted off the ridge it gathered firmness and authority.

然而，月亮升上山梁之后，逐渐变得沉着有力。

Its complexion changed from red,to orange,to gold,to impressive yellow.

月色也由红变为桔黄，在变为金黄，最后变成了柔和的明黄。

It seemed to draw light out of the darkening earth,

月亮似乎是从渐渐暗下去的大地汲取了光明。

for as it rose, the hills and valleys below grew dimmer.

在它冉冉升起之际，下面的群山幽谷愈发显得幽暗了。

By the time the moon stood clear of the horizon,

待到月亮高挂天空，

full-chested and round and the color of ivory,

圆润而光洁。

the valleys were deep shadows in the landscape.

重重山谷便深藏在幽暗的阴影之中。

The dogs,reassured that this was the familiar moon, stopped barking.

见到这熟悉的月亮，狗安定下来，停止了吠叫。

And all at once I felt a confidence and joy close to laughter.

顿时，我感到神清气爽，快乐得几乎笑出声来。

And odd things happen in such moments.

在这样的时刻常常会发生神奇的事。

On that July night,I watched the moon for an hour or two,

那个七月的夜晚，我观赏了一两个小时的月景之后

and then got back into the car,

回到车中，

turned the key in the ignition and heard the engine start,

转动钥匙点火,发动机居然响了起来，

just as mysteriously as it had stalled a few hours earlier.

就像几个小时前突然神秘地熄火一样。

I drove down from the mountains with the moon on my shoulder

我驱车沿着山路而下，肩上披着月光，心中一片澄净。

and peace in my heart.

心中一片澄净。