Sad Joke on a Marae-会厅院子里可悲的笑话
Sad Joke on a Marae
Apirana Taylor (阿皮兰纳.泰勒)
Tihei Mauriora I called
Kupe Paikea Te Kooti
Rewi and Te Rauparaha
I saw them
grim death and wooden ghosts
carved on the meeting house wall
In the only Maori I knew
I called
Tibei Mauriora
Above me the tekoteko raged
He ripped his tongue from his mouth
and threw it at my feet
Then I spoke
My name is Tu the freezing worker
Ngati D.B. is my tribe
The pub is my tribe marae
My fist is my taiaha
Jail is my home
Tihei Mauriora I cried
They understood
the tekoteko and the ghosts
though I said nothing but
Tihei Mauriora
for that"s all I knew
会厅院子里可悲的笑话
译者 / 黎翠珍
“向生者致敬”，我对着加布，
裴基亚，提古地，理惠
和提罗巴拉哈大声嚷嚷
我瞧着他们
冷峻的死亡和鬼魂的木像
都雕在会厅的墙壁上
我只懂这句毛利语大声说
“向生者致敬”
上方山墙上的雕像恼火了
一把从嘴里拉出舌头
摔到我脚下
于是我说
我名叫图，是冷藏工
恩加提啤酒厂是我们的部族
小酒馆是我的会厅
拳头是我的神棒
牢房是我的家
“向生者致敬”我叫嚷着
他们明白了
山墙上的雕像和那些鬼魂
虽然我没说别的，就这句
“向生者致敬”
因为我只会这一句话
