What Then?
- His chosen comrades thought at school
- He must grow a famous man;
- He thought the same and lived by rule.
- All his twenties crammed with toil;
- ‘What then?’ sang Plato’s ghost, ‘what then?’
- Everything he wrote was read,
- After certain years he won
- Sufficient money for his need,
- Friends that have been friends indeed;
- ‘What then?’ sang Plato’s ghost, ‘what then?’
- All his happier dreams came true—
- A small old house, wife, daughter, son,
- Grounds where plum and cabbage grew,
- Poets and Wits about him drew;
- ‘What then?’ sang Plato’s ghost, ‘what then?’
- ‘The work is done,’ grown old he thought,
- ‘According to my boyish plan;
- Let the fools rage, I swerved in nought,
- Something to perfection brought;’
- But louder sang that ghost ‘What then?’
又怎样？
- 他上学时选择的伙伴认为
- 他将来必定会获得名望；
- 他也有同感，生活循规，
- 苦功排满了二十多岁；
- “又怎样？”柏拉图的鬼魂唱，“又怎样？”
- 他写 的一切都被人读到，
- 若干年以后他赢得相当
- 足够的金钱满足他需要，
- 足够的朋友真诚相交；
- “又怎样？”柏拉图的鬼魂唱，“又怎样？”
- 他更快乐的梦想都成真实——
- 妻子、儿女、一座小旧房，
- 种植着李树和甘蓝的田地，
- 诗人和才子围着他聚集；
- “又怎样？”柏拉图的鬼魂唱，“又怎样？”
- “工作完成了，”年老时他自思，
- “按照我少年时的计划设想；
- 让蠢人发怒吧，我丝毫未偏离，
- 使某种东西达到了完美；”
- 可是那鬼魂更大声唱“又怎样？”
傅浩 译