So we left Beirut Willa and I 所以我们离开贝鲁特威拉我

He headed East to Baghdad and the rest of it 他率领东巴格达，它的其余部分

I set out North 我阐述了北

I walked the five or six miles to the last of the street lamps 我走了五六公里到最后的路灯

And hunkered in the curb side dusk 而在盘坐在路旁黄昏

Holding out my thumb 伸出我的大拇指

In no great hope at the ramshackle procession of home bound traffic 在没有很大的希望在家里行车辆的摇摇欲坠游行

Success! 成功！

An ancient Mercedes 'dolmus' 一个古老的奔驰“合租”

The ubiquitous, Arab, shared taxi drew up 无处不在，阿拉伯，共享出租车制定了

I turned out my pockets and shrugged at the driver 我打开我的口袋里，耸耸肩在驱动

"J'ai pas de l'argent" “ JAI PAS DE L银色”

"Venez!" A soft voice from the back seat “ VENEZ ！ ”从后座一个细细的声音

The driver lent wearily across and pushed open the back door 疲倦地借给对面，司机推开后门

I stooped to look inside at the two men there 我弯腰看里面的两个人有

One besuited, bespectacled, moustached, irritated, distant, late 一个besuited ，戴着眼镜，小胡子，有点烦，远处，晚

The other, the one who had spoken, 另，谁曾说过，

Frail, fifty five-ish, bald, sallow, in a short sleeved pale blue cotton shirt 年老体弱， 55十岁上下，秃顶，蜡黄，在短袖的淡蓝色棉质衬衫

With one biro in the breast pocket 凭借在胸前的口袋中1比罗

A clerk maybe, slightly sunken in the seat 一位店员也许，稍凹陷在座位上

"Venez!" He said again, and smiled “ VENEZ ！ ”他又说，笑了

"Mais j'ai pas de l'argent" “ MAIS JAI PAS DE L银色”

"Oui, Oui, d'accord, Venez!" “ Oui咖啡， Oui咖啡，德雅， VENEZ ！ ”

   

Are these the people that we should bomb 这些是我们应该轰炸的人

Are we so sure they mean us harm 我们这么肯定他们的意思是我们的伤害

Is this our pleasure, punishment or crime 这是我们的荣幸，惩罚或犯罪

Is this a mountain that we really want to climb 这是一座山，我们真的要爬

The road is hard, hard and long 这条路很辛苦，艰辛和漫长

Put down that two by four 放下两个四

This man would never turn you from his door 这个人永远不会把你从他家门口

Oh George! Oh George! 乔治哦！乔治哦！

That Texas education must have fucked you up when you were very small 德克萨斯州的教育必须有性交你了，当你还很小

   

He beckoned with a small arthritic motion of his hand 他招手，他的手小关节的运动

Fingers together like a child waving goodbye 手指并拢像个孩子挥手告别

The driver put my old Hofner guitar in the boot with my rucksack 司机把我的旧吉他Hofner在引导我的背包

And off we went 而我们就出发了

"Vous etes Francais, monsieur?" “奴斯etes法语，先生？ ”

"Non, Anglais" “不， Anglais大道”

"Ah! Anglais" “啊！ Anglais大道”

"Est-ce que vous parlais Anglais, Monsieur?" “ EST- CE阙奴斯parlais Anglais大道，先生？ ”

"Non, je regrette" “不， JE regrette ”

And so on 等等

In small talk between strangers, his French alien but correct 在陌生人之间闲聊，他的法国外籍人，但正确

Mine halting but eager to please 煤矿停止，但可以讨好

A lift, after all, is a lift 升降梯，毕竟是电梯

Late moustache left us brusquely 晚胡子给我们留下粗暴地

And some miles later the dolmus slowed at a crossroads lit by a single lightbulb 和几英里后，合租放缓在由一个单一的灯泡亮了十字路口

Swung through a U-turn and stopped in a cloud of dust 通过掉头剧变，停在尘土飞扬

I opened the door and got out 我打开门，拿出

But my benefactor made no move to follow 但是，我的恩人没有行动遵循

The driver dumped my guitar and rucksack at my feet 司机甩了我的吉他和背包在我脚下

And waving away my thanks returned to the boot 并挥掉了我的谢意返回到启动

Only to reappear with a pair of alloy crutches 只有重新出现了一对合金拐杖

Which he leaned against the rear wing of the Mercedes. 他靠在奔驰的尾翼。

He reached into the car and lifted my companion out 他把手伸进车里，举起我的同伴出

Only one leg, the second trouser leg neatly pinned beneath a vacant hip 只有一条腿，第二裤管整齐地固定一个空置的臀部下方

"Monsieur, si vous voulez, ca sera un honneur pour nous “先生， SI奴斯voulez ，血清CA联合国勋章倒常识

Si vous venez avec moi a la maison pour manger avec ma femme" 思奴斯VENEZ AVEC MOI à La Maison酒店倒入食槽AVEC马FEMME “

   

When I was 17 my mother, bless her heart, fulfilled my summer dream 17岁那年我的母亲，祝福她的心脏，圆了我的梦夏

She handed me the keys to the car 她递给我的车钥匙

We motored down to Paris, fuelled with Dexedrine and booze 我们联动下降到巴黎，燃用Dexedrine和酒

Got bust in Antibes by the cops 有胸围在昂蒂布的警察

And fleeced in Naples by the wops 而被宰了在那不勒斯的佬

But everyone was kind to us, we were the English dudes 但是，每个人都善待我们，我们是英语帅哥

Our dads had helped them win the war 我们的爸爸已经帮他们赢得战争

When we all knew what we were fighting for 当大家都知道我们在争取

But now an Englishman abroad is just a US stooge 但是，现在的英国人在国外只是美国的傀儡

The bulldog is a poodle snapping round the scoundrel's last refuge 牛头犬是一只狮子狗一轮抢购歹徒的最后的避难所

   

"Ma femme", thank God! Monopod but not queer “马FEMME ” ，感谢上帝！独脚架，但不奇怪

The taxi drove off leaving us in the dim light of the swinging bulb 出租车开走了留下我们在昏暗的灯光摆动灯泡

No building in sight 看不到的建筑

What the hell 搞什么鬼

"Merci monsieur" “留言Merci先生”

"Bon, Venez!" “苯教， VENEZ ！ ”

His faced creased in pleasure, he set off in front of me 他面临的折痕的快感，他在我面前掀起

Swinging his leg between the crutches with agonising care 摇摆与痛苦的照顾拐杖的他的腿

Up the dusty side road into the darkness 截至尘土飞扬的小路上的黑暗

After half an hour we'd gone maybe half a mile 半个多小时后，我们已经走了，也许有半英里

When on the right I made out the low profile of a building 在右边我做了一个建筑的低调

He called out in Arabic to announce our arrival 他呼吁在阿拉伯地宣布我们的到来

And after some scuffling inside a lamp was lit 和一盏灯里面的一些混战后，被点燃

And the changing angle of light in the wide crack under the door 和光在门口下宽的裂缝不断变化的角度

Signalled the approach of someone within 信令通知某人的内途径

The door creaked open and there, holding a biblical looking oil lamp 门吱呀一声打开，在那里，拿着圣经的寻找油灯

Stood a squat, moustached woman, stooped smiling up at us 站在一蹲，小胡子的女人，弯下腰微笑起来看着我们

She stood aside to let us in and as she turned 她站到一边，让我们和她转身

I saw the reason for her stoop 只见她弯腰的原因

She carried on her back a shocking hump 她带着她回到了一个令人震惊的驼峰

I nodded and smiled back at her in greeting, fighting for control 我点点头，打招呼，她微笑地看着她，争取控制

The gentleness between the one-legged man and his monstrous wife 独腿男子和他的妻子滔天的温柔

Almost too much for me 几乎没有太多对我来说

   

Is gentleness too much for us 是温柔太多了，我们

Should gentleness be filed along with empathy 应该被温柔与同情申请

We feel for someone else's child 我们觉得别人的孩子

Every time a smart bomb does its sums and gets it wrong 每当一个聪明炸弹执行其款项，并得到理解错了

Someone else's child dies and equities in defence rise 别人的孩子死了，在防御上升股票

America, America, please hear us when we call 美国，美国，请听我们的，当我们调用

You got hip-hop, be-bop, hustle and bustle 你有街舞，待防喷器，喧嚣

You got Atticus Finch 你有阿提卡斯芬奇

You got Jane Russell 你有珍罗素

You got freedom of speech 你有言论自由

You got great beaches, wildernesses and malls 你有美丽的海滩，荒野和商场

Don't let the might, the Christian right, fuck it all up 不要让强权，基督教右派，他妈的这一切

For you and the rest of the world 对于你和世界其他地区

   

They talked excitedly 他们兴奋地谈论

She went to take his crutches in routine of care 她去把他的拐杖护理常规

He chiding, gestured 他责骂，做了个手势

We have a guest 我们有客人

She embarrassed by her faux pas 她不好意思她失礼

Took my things and laid them gently in the corner 拿了我的东西，在角落里把它们轻轻地

"Du the?" “杜的？ ”

We sat on meagre cushions in one corner of the single room 我们在单间的一个角落坐靠垫微薄

The floor was earth packed hard and by one wall a raised platform 地板是土硬装一个墙面凸起的平台

Some six foot by four covered by a simple sheet, the bed 大约六英尺四所涵盖的一个简单的表，床上

The hunchback busied herself with small copper pots over an open hearth 驼背忙着自己的小铜锅在平炉

And brought us tea, hot and sweet 并为我们带来了茶，热，甜

And so to dinner 等吃饭

Flat, unleavened bread, + thin 地势平坦，无酵饼，薄+

Cooked in an iron skillet over the open hearth 煮熟的铁煎锅平炉

Then folded and dipped into the soft insides of female sea urchins 然后折叠，浸入女性海胆的内侧软

My hostess did not eat, I ate her dinner 我的女主人没有吃，我吃了她的晚餐

She would hear of nothing else, I was their guest 她会听到的没有别的，我是他们的客人

And then she retired behind a curtain 然后她退休之后幕

And left the men to sit drinking thimbles full of Arak 离开了人坐喝顶针全阿拉克的

Carefully poured from a small bottle with a faded label 从一个小瓶子仔细地浇了褪色的标签

Soon she reappeared, radiant 不久，她又出现了，容光焕发

Carrying in her arms their pride and joy, their child. 搭载在怀里他们的骄傲和喜悦，他们的孩子。

I'd never seen a squint like that 我从来没有见过这样的斜视

So severe that as one eye looked out the other disappeared behind its nose 如此严重，作为一只眼睛望着对方消失在它的鼻子

   

Not in my name, Tony, you great war leader you 没有我的名字，托尼，你伟大的战争领袖，你

Terror is still terror, whosoever gets to frame the rules 恐怖还是恐怖，无论谁获得帧的规则

History's not written by the vanquished or the damned 历史上不是写的征服或者被诅咒

Now we are Genghis Khan, Lucretia Borghia, Son of Sam 现在，我们是成吉思汗，卢克丽霞Borghia ，山姆之子

In 1961 they took this child into their home 在1961年，他们把这个孩子带到自己的家

I wonder what became of them 我不知道它们会变成什么

In the cauldron that was Lebanon 在这是黎巴嫩的大锅

If I could find them now, could I make amends? 如果我现在能找到他们，我可以弥补？

How does the story end? 如何在故事结束？

   

And so to bed, me that is, not them 因此睡觉，我说是，他们不

Of course they slept on the floor behind a curtain 当然，他们睡在后面的帘子地板

Whilst I lay awake all night on their earthen bed 虽然我整夜睡不着觉自己的土床

Then came the dawn and then their quiet stirrings 随后赶来的曙光，然后他们安静的蛛丝马迹

Careful not to wake the guest 小心不要吵醒客人

I yawned in great pretence í打了个哈欠很大的幌子

And took the proffered bowl of water heated up and washed 接过递上一碗水加热并用

And sipped my coffee in its tiny cup 而我喝着咖啡，它的微小杯

And then with much "merci-ing" and bowing and shaking of hands 然后用多“的留言Merci安泰”，并鞠躬，颤抖的手

We left the woman to her chores 我们离开了女人对她做家务

And we men made our way back to the crossroads 我们男人是我们的方式回到了十字路口

The painful slowness of our progress accentuated by the brilliant morning light 我们前进的痛苦缓慢的辉煌晨光加剧

The dolmus duly reappeared 在合租适当再现

My host gave me one crutch and leaning on the other 我的主人给了我一个拐杖和学习上的其他

Shook my hand and smiled 握着我的手，笑了

"Merci, monsieur," I said “留言Merci ，先生， ”我说

"De rien" “德奥布莱恩”

"And merci a votre femme, elle est tres gentille" “而且留言Merci à votre FEMME ， ELLE EST特雷斯gentille ”

Giving up his other crutch 放弃他的其他的拐杖

He allowed himself to be folded into the back seat again 他允许自己再次被折成后座

"Bon voyage, monsieur," he said “一路顺风，先生，”他说

And half bowed as the taxi headed south towards the city 半鞠躬的出租车向南往城市

I turned North, my guitar over my shoulder 我转过身北，我的吉他在我的肩膀

And the first hot gust of wind 与风的第一热阵风

Quickly dried the salt tears from my young cheeks. 干燥快从我年轻的脸颊盐泪水。