Audio Reading by Rev. Bill McGinnis
I know what the caged bird feels, 1)alas!
When the sun is bright on the 2)upland slopes;
When the wind 3)stirs soft through the springing grass,
And the river flows like a stream of glass;
When the first bird sings and the first bud 4)opes,
And the faint perfume from its 5)chalice 6)steals——
I know what the caged bird feels!
哎,我了解笼中鸟的感受!
当太阳照在山坡上;
当微风轻轻吹拂飞速生长的草儿, 
而河流如一弯玻璃浆液流淌;
当第一只晨鸟歌唱,第一朵蓓蕾绽放,
淡淡的芬芳悄然飘出时——
我了解笼中鸟的感受!
I know why the caged bird beats his wing
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;
For he must fly back to his perch and cling
When he 7)fain would be on the 8)bough 9)a-swing;
And a pain still 10)throbs in the old, old scars
And they pulse again with a 11)keener sting——
I know why he beats his wing!
我知道笼中鸟为何拍打翅膀,
直到血染红那残酷的笼杆;
因为它必须飞回自己的栖枝,而后寸步不离,
那时,它会在枝上欣然跃动;
很久,很久以前的伤痕依然在作痛,
那刺痛愈加强烈——
我了解它为何拍打翅膀!
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore, ——
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he 12)flings——
I know why the caged bird sings!
哎,我了解笼中鸟为何歌唱,
当它的翅膀受伤,胸脯疼痛,——
当它拍打笼杆,渴望获得自由;
那不是一首欢快的曲子,
而是从内心深处发出的祈祷,
是向上天抛出的恳求——
我了解笼中鸟为何歌唱!
Paul Laurence Dunbar(1872—1906),著名非裔美国诗人、作家。他在美国俄亥俄州长大,34岁病逝,其父母曾是黑奴。他生前经常使用方言写诗以描述美国黑人的经历,其中最出色的莫过于When De Co’n Pone’s Hot(《玉米甜糕已蒸熟》)这首赞美黑人家庭生活的诗。他生前出版了4部小说和多部诗集,其中,1896年出版的第三部诗集Lyrics of Lowly Life(《下层生活抒情诗》)使他闻名全美。其作品常常幽默与感伤并存,Sympathy表面写的是笼中鸟失去自由的悲哀,其实是借以暗喻黑人“被囚禁在其‘卑微’而受歧视的身份中”的悲惨生活境遇。同为黑人的Dunbar为身处“囚笼”中的自己和他的黑人兄弟姐妹们发出呐喊,奋力道出对“自由”和身份平等的本能渴望和向往。顺便一提,从小在贫民窟里长大的美国著名黑人女作家和诗人Maya Angelou以此诗第三节的首句为标题,写下了记录自己成长经历的自传体小说I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings(《我知道笼中鸟为何歌唱》)。