Always Here

 

心心相印

"Mom?"I instantly recognized the odd tone in my daughter Maura's voice.

"妈妈?"从女儿莫娜的口语中，我立刻意识到有点不对劲。

"Mom,one of my friends in the dorm tried to kill herself.

"妈妈，我宿舍里有位同学要自杀。

She took pills.We made her throw them up,

她吃了许多安眠药。我们已想办法让她吐了出来，

then sat up with her all night,talking. She's tried this before,Mom."

还整夜陪她坐着，劝她。妈妈，她以前也试着这样做过。"

"Did your friend get medical attention?"

"你的朋友看过医生没有？

I asked,trying to hit the right note in my own voice.

我强作镇静地问她。

"No,she's okay now, and she doesn't want us to report her."

"没有，她现在一点事儿都没有，而且她不要我们告诉别人。"

"You kids can't handle this kind of problem by yourselves,"

"你们还小，是无法处理这些事情的，"

I warned."Your friend needs professional help.

我告诫她。"你的朋友需要专业人士的帮助。

Tell your resident adviser what happened.She'll know what to do."

把我的一些告诉你们的舍监。她会知道怎么处理的。"

What a load for an 18-year-old.

对18岁的孩子而言，这个责任太大了。

"I was scared,Mom. You can't imagine how scared."

"妈妈,我好害怕。你根本就想象不出有多可怕啊。"

Yes,I can,Maura.I'm scared too--for your friend and for you.

不，我想象得出，莫娜，我也好担心呀，担心你的朋友，也担心你呀。

"All we could do was to hold her hand and listen."

"我们所能做的就是握住她的手，听她诉说。"

If only I could hold Maura's hand that very moment.

但愿此刻我能握住莫娜的手。

After hanging up the phone,

打了电话之后，

I thought of all the right things I might have said,and didn't

我想起了我应该说而没有说的所有的话。

Ours is an affectionate family,

虽然我们家是个温馨的家。

but we are inclined to show,not tell our feelings.

但是我们都倾向于表现而不是说出自己的感受。

How do you hug a child long-distance?

怎么去拥抱你那天各一方的孩子呢？

I had copied a poem to send to each of my college daughters

我总是给每个上大学的女儿抄写一首诗寄给她们，

when,as now, the occasion warranted.

每当碰到像现在这样的情况。

It was from a little book by Susan Polis Schutz called Don't Be Afraid to Love.

这首诗选自苏珊.波利斯.舒尔茨的一本小册子,书名是《大胆去爱》。

The jacket flyleaf said her poems strike a responsive chord with readers.

该书扉页上的评论说她的诗歌可以引起读者心灵的共鸣。

This one did for me:

这首诗确实适合我：

I am always here to understand you I am always here to laugh with you

我一直陪伴左右与你心心相印我总是在你身旁与你笑语吟吟

I am always here to cry with you I am always here to talk to you

我时时鞍前马后与你同声哭泣我天天端坐眼前与你促膝谈心

I am always here to think with you I am always here to plan with you

我时刻如影随形与你仔细思寻我经常与你相依相偎与你计议前程

even though we might not always be together

尽管我俩也许无法永不分离

please know that I am always here to love you

不过请你相信任天涯海角我爱你永远是刻骨铭心

Maura called the day she got my letter.

莫娜收到我信的当天，就给我打来了电话。

Her friend was all right,she said,and got counseling.

她说，她的朋友平安无事，并且接受了劝告。

"I gave her a copy of the poem you sent

"我把你给我的那首诗抄了一份送给她，

and she is carrying it in her wallet for moral support.

她把那首诗放在钱包里作为精神支柱。

I put the original on the message board on my door."

我把那份原件贴在了房门的告示板上。"

My tongue tied again as it reached for something to say.

话到嘴边我却再次什么都说不出来了。

"About that physics grade,"I changed the subject abruptly.

"物理成绩怎么样，"我赶紧岔开话题。

"Now that this crisis is over,

"既然这个非常事件过去了，

you have to buckle down and work harder Maura."

你就应该埋头苦干好好学习啦,莫娜。"

on and on I went, playing the taskmaster,the preacher--

我重复了一遍又一遍,扮演着导师,牧师的角色，

at no loss at all for words in those roles.

不失时机地重复这些话语。

The following Saturday,there was a letter to me from Maura.What now?

随后的星期六，我收到了莫娜的一封信。这为什么呢?

She never wrote letters.Maybe I was too tough on her.

她是从不写信的。也许我对她太苛刻了吧，

Is something so bad that she's afraid to tell me on the phone?

还是有什么难言之隐不便在电话里说呢？

The note was short:

信很短:

"Dear Mom: In case you were wondering,

亲爱的妈妈:您毋须一天到晚担惊受怕，

'I am always here to understand you.' Love,Maura.

'我一直陪伴左右，与您心心相印。'爱您的莫娜。