群蚋
赫曼•赫塞﹝作于1911年﹞
鄭德昌譯﹝2004.2﹞

數千光輝燦爛在陽光下飛揚起來的灰塵
貪諉地群聚一起向前進
形成了許多震撼嚇人的圈圈。
竭盡氣力狂歡一場
整整一個小時後才迅速地消失殆盡，
它們精神錯亂地，在尖銳的呼呼聲音中，喧囂著，
帶著歡樂的顫抖面對死亡。

整群王國，沉淪成為廢墟，
重金築起的許多王位，瞬間瓦解
走入暗夜與神話，不著任何痕跡
從來不知道有過那麼兇猛的一場舞蹈。

原﹝英譯﹞文
A Swarm of Gnats
(by Hermann Hesse, 1911; translated by James Wright, 1970)

Many thousand glittering motes
Crowd forward greedily together
In trembling circles.
Extravagantly carousing away
For a whole hour rapidly vanishing,
They rave, delirious, a shrill whir,
Shivering with joy against death.

Whole kingdoms, sunk into ruin,
Whose thrones, heavy with gold, instantly scattered
Into night and legend, without leaving a trace,
Have never known of so fierce a dancing.