'? ' Poem by Luo Zhihai

★ '? '

☆ by Robert William Service

If you had the choice of two women to wed,
(Though of course the idea is quite absurd)
And the first from her heels to her dainty head
Was charming in every sense of the word:
And yet in the past (I grieve to state) ,
She never had been exactly 'straight'.

And the second - she was beyond all cavil,
A model of virtue, I must confess;
And yet, alas! she was dull as the devil,
And rather a dowd in the way of dress;
Though what she was lacking in wit and beauty,
She more than made up for in 'sense of duty'.

Now, suppose you must wed, and make no blunder,
And either would love you, and let you win her -
Which of the two would you choose, I wonder,
The stolid saint or the sparkling sinner?


▲ Chinese Translation

★ '问号'

☆ [英] 罗伯特•威廉•塞尔维克 (1874 - 1958) 诗
☆ [中] 罗志海 译


如果你选择两个女人结婚
（虽然这肯定是个荒谬的念头）
第一个女人，从她的高跟鞋到娇俏的头
到吐露的每句话，感觉是那么地迷人
然而，过去（我悲伤的状态）
从来没有感觉她'直率'

第二个女人，她不会吹毛求疵
这是一种经典美德，我必须承认
然而，唉！她像冒失鬼般乏味
在着装方面，是个颇为邋遢的女人
虽然她缺乏美丽和智慧.
但她比第一个更有'责任'

现在，假设你必须结婚，不可犯错
任何一个都爱你，并让你赢得芳心
我想知道，你怎样选择——
冷漠的圣人还是娇艳的罪人？



北京时间2015年1月1日翻译
Beijing time 1/1/2015 translation