明尼苏达州感恩节--约翰.贝里曼

因为自由的恩典带给我们过去巨大的风险
&经历过巨大的悲痛幸存至这个节日
清醒&宁静，和出生及未出生的孩子们，
在勇敢的朋友之中，上帝，我们背着债又站起来了
发现我们自己处于快乐的情形中：带着感恩之心。

我们赞扬把我们交付到这儿的祖先
四壁温暖一切平安，听见音乐，
就要吃到充足&诱人的肉食
还有无论什么样的佐餐物
宽容而心灵手巧的凯特总是想方设法

我们希望--碰见最奇特的岁月--
继续过好它们，你没有充足的奖励
但正如我们处于体面或快乐的良心&感恩于上帝
能够得出，好耶！
祝福此刻，正如你们希望的，这粗放的膳食。
For that free Grace bringing us past great risks
& thro’ great griefs surviving to this feast
sober & still, with the children unborn and born,
among brave friends, Lord, we stand again in debt
and find ourselves in the glad position: Gratitude.

We praise our ancestors who delivered us here
within warm walls all safe, aware of music,
likely toward ample & attractive meat
with whatever accompaniment
Kate in her kind ingenuity has seen fit to devise,

and we hope—across the most strange year to come—
continually to do them and You not sufficient honour
but such as we become able to devise
out of decent or joyful conscience & thanksgiving.
Yippee!
      Bless then, as Thou wilt, this wilderness board.

“Minnesota Thanksgiving” by John Berryman from Collected Poems. © Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991.