One Art

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.





Elizabeth Bishop是二十世纪英语世界最优秀的诗人之一。

这首诗的写作背景是Elizabeth Bishop与女友Alice Methfessel关系摇摇欲坠之期，她想挽回女友。而前面的很多意象和双关是在说过去的经历，包括前两任女友和精神有问题久住医院、现已故的母亲。不过诗中说那都不算什么——比起现在将要失去Alice。而即便如此，作者也并未直言其痛苦。

爱写细微之物，在细节中体现情感，在朗读中随语调变化情感自然泻出，这是Elizabeth Bishop的特色。

这也是一首有名的十九行诗，被认为是Elizabeth Bishop最优秀的作品之一。

https://www.**.com/watch?v=gvT48dY0CsU&ab_channel=PoetryInVoice%2FLesvoixdelapo%C3%A9sie

https://www.**.com/watch?v=qCBUSrO2WS8&ab_channel=PoetryInVoice%2FLesvoixdelapo%C3%A9sie

https://www.**.com/watch?v=wR_WeK_XwIQ&ab_channel=APoetryChannel

Elizabeth Bishop的传记电影《月光诗篇》，内容加工比较多，和生平出入略大。这首诗其实是写给她自己最后一任女友Alice来挽回她的，重点在于最后一节，特别是 I shan't。这部电影主要讲的是那位巴西女友，这里引用这首我多少觉得有点扯，不如说有点扭曲诗的原意。所以仅供欣赏。