致我的母亲

致我的母亲
作者：By Edgar Allan Poe
来源：《时代英语·高三》2017年第05期
Because I feel that， in the Heavens above，
The angels， whispering to one another，
Can find， among their burning terms of love，None so devotional as that of “Mother”，
Therefore by that dear name I long have called you— You who are more than mother unto me，
And fill my heart of hearts， where Death installed you In setting my Virginia’s spirit free.
My mother—my own mother， who died early，
Was but the mother of myself； but you
Are mother to the one I loved so dearly，
And thus are dearer than the mother I knew
By that infinity with which my wife
Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life.
因为我感到：我们头上的天堂里，
彼此间轻声交谈的天使，
在她们充满爱的炽热词汇中，
找不到具有“母亲”这种献身精神的词语，
所以我一直以这亲切的词叫你——
对我来说，现在你比母亲还要亲，而在解放我弗吉尼亚的灵魂时，
死神把你深深埋進了我的内心。

我的母亲，我很早就去世的母亲，只不过是我本人的母亲，可是你，你却生下了我如此挚爱的人，
所以我的母亲远不能同你相比，
犹如对我灵魂而言，灵魂的生命
远不能同我的妻子比一比谁更珍贵。