Harry Baker: A love poem for lonely prime numbers

翻译人员: Karen SONG 校对人员: Min WANG

My name is Harry Baker. Harry Baker is my name.

我的名字是哈利▪贝克。 哈利▪贝克是我的名字。

If your name was Harry Baker, then our names would be the same.

如果你的名字也是哈利▪贝克， 那我们俩的名字就是...一样的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's a short introductory part.

简短的自我介绍。

Yeah, I'm Harry.

我叫哈利。

I study maths. I write poetry.

我学数学，还写诗。

So I thought I'd start with a love poem about prime numbers.

我觉得可以用一首关于质数的情诗来开场。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is called "59."

诗的题目是《59》。

I was going to call it "Prime Time Loving."

我一度想用《质数恋爱时》来作题目。

That reaction is why I didn't.

你那反应是问我为啥没用那个题目嘛。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, "59."

好吧，《59》。

59 wakes up on the wrong side of the bed.

59从床的错误一边醒来，

Realizes all his hair is on one side of his head.

发现头发全部歪向一边，

Takes just under a minute to work out that it’s because of the way that he slept.

花了一分钟反省是睡姿的缘故。

He finds some clothes and gets dressed.

他找了找衣服，穿好，

He can’t help but look in the mirror and be subtly impressed

没忍住照了照镜子，竟微微醉了，

How he looks rough around the edges and yet casually messed.

一副不修边幅的随意凌乱样。

And as he glances out the window, he sees the sight that he gets blessed with

他望向窗外，幸运地看到

of 60 from across the street.

对街的60。

Now 60 was beautiful.

60真是美，

With perfectly trimmed cuticles, dressed in something suitable.

整洁的指甲，穿着得体，

Never rude or crude at all.

永远与粗鄙无缘，

Unimprovable, right on time as usual, more on cue than a snooker ball

无可挑剔、绝对准时， 比斯诺克球还要恰如其分，

but liked to play it super cool.

但我喜欢酷酷的打斯诺克。

59 wanted to tell her that he knew her favorite flower.

59想告诉她，自己知道她最爱的花，

He thought of her every second, every minute, every hour.

他无时无刻不念着她。

But he knew it wouldn’t work, he’d never get the girl.

但他知道自己没有希望得到她，

Because although she lived across the street

因为，即使她只住在对街，

they came from different worlds.

他俩也是来自不同的世界。

While 59 admired 60’s perfectly round figure,

59钦慕60是整数，

60 thought 59 was odd. (Laughter)

60嫌弃59是奇数。 （笑声）

One of his favorite films was "101 Dalmatians."

他有一部喜欢的电影是《101忠狗》，

She preferred the sequel.

而她却喜欢那部电影的续集。

He romanticized the idea they were star-crossed lovers.

他幻想他俩是对苦命鸳鸯，

They could overcome the odds and evens because they had each other.

只要拥有彼此，就能克服万难。

While she maintained the strict views imposed on her by her mother

就算她从母亲那里继承了顽冥的观念，

That separate could not be equal.

也无法忍受彼此的分开。

And though at the time he felt stupid and dumb

他感觉自己又蠢又傻，

For trying to love a girl controlled by her stupid mum,

爱上了被愚蠢母亲严密看管的女孩，

He should have been comforted by the simple sum.

简单的加总也能让他感到慰藉。

Take 59 away from 60, and you’re left with the one.

从60里拿去59，只能得到1，

Sure enough after two months of moping around,

果不其然，在闷闷不乐、无所事事两个月以后，

61 days later, 61 was who he found,

61天过去，他找到了61。

He had lost his keys and his parents were out.

他丢了家门钥匙，而父母并不在家。

So one day after school he went into a house

那天放学后，他走进一户人家，

As he noticed the slightly wonky numbers on the door,

他发现那家的门牌号码摇摇欲坠，

He wondered why he’d never introduced himself before,

他纳闷怎么从没跟他们打过交道。

As she let him in, his jaw dropped in awe.

她让他进了屋，他惊讶的下巴都快掉了。

61 was like 60, but a little bit more. (Laughter)

61与60挺像，但要稍微多“一”点点。 （笑声）

She had prettier eyes, and an approachable smile,

她的眼睛更美、笑容更甜，

And like him, rough around the edges, casual style,

像他一样，是不修边幅的休闲范儿，

And like him, everything was in disorganized piles,

像他一样，杂乱无章，

And like him, her mum didn’t mind if friends stayed a while.

像他一样，她妈妈不介意朋友们多待一些时间。

Because she was like him, and he liked her.

因为相像，他喜欢上了她。

He reckoned she would like him if she knew he was like her,

他猜想她知道了也会喜欢他。

And it was different this time. I mean, this girl was wicked,

但这次情况不同，这个女孩有些顽劣。

So he plucked up the courage and asked for her digits.

他鼓起勇气问她是什么数字，

She said, "I'm 61." He grinned, said, "I'm 59."

她回答：“我是61”。 他笑说：“我是59”。

Today I’ve had a really nice time,

今天我过得很愉快，

So tomorrow if you wanted you could come over to mine?

如果你愿意，明天能来我家吗？

She said, "Sure."

她回答，“行啊”。

She loved talking to someone just as quirky,

她喜欢跟同样古怪的人聊天，

She agreed to this unofficial first date.

同意了这不太正式的初次约会。

In the end he was only ready one minute early,

第二天，他在约定时间的一分钟前， 才刚刚准备好，

But it didn’t matter because she arrived one minute late.

这不打紧，因为她刚好迟到了一分钟。

And from that moment on there was nonstop chatter,

那一刻起，话匣子就此打开，

How they loved "X Factor," how they had two factors,

他们聊起喜欢的节目“X因数”， 他们聊起各自只有两个因数，

How that did not matter, distinctiveness made them better,

这不打紧，因为特殊，所以更好。

By the end of the night they knew they were meant together.

在夜晚结束前，他们意识到 彼此注定要在一起。

And one day she was talking about stuck-up 60,

有一天她谈到60的傲娇，

She noticed that 59 looked a bit shifty.

她注意到59有些动摇，

He blushed, told her of his crush:

他满面通红，向她诉说了自己曾经的迷恋：

“The best thing that never happened because it led to us.”

“无果的最佳结果，就是让我们相遇。”

61 was clever, see, not prone to jealousy,

61果然聪明，并没轻易嫉妒，

She looked him in the eyes and told him quite tenderly,

她凝望他的双眼，语气温柔：

"You’re 59, I’m 61, together we combine to become twice what 60 could ever be."

“你是59，我是61，加在一起恰是60的两倍。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

At this point 59 had tears in his eyes,

这时59眼含热泪，

Was so glad to have this one-of-a-kind girl in his life.

为人生中能拥有如此独一无二的姑娘 而感到欣喜若狂。

He told her the very definition of being prime

他告诉她质数的定义，

Was that with only one and himself could his heart divide,

他的心只能分成1和他自己，

And she was the one he wanted to give his heart to,

而他想把自己的那部分 完全献给她，

She said she felt the same and now she knew the films were half true.

她说自己也有相同的感觉， 她现在知道电影只是半真，

Because that wasn't real love, that love was just a sample,

因为电影描写的不是真爱， 只能算个示范。

When it came to real love, they were a prime example.

如果要算真爱， 他俩才是典范。

Cheers.

欢呼！

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

That was the first poem that I wrote

这是我写的第一首诗，

and it was for a prime number-themed poetry night -- (Laughter) --

为一个质数诗主题夜而作， （笑声）

which turned out to be a prime number-themed poetry competition.

那晚举行了一场质数诗主题赛，

And I became a prime number-themed poetry competition winner,

我在这场质数诗主题赛上获胜，

or as I like to call it, a prime minister. (Laughter)

成为了“质数大臣”。（与“总理大臣”双关） （笑声）

And this is how I discovered these things called poetry slams,

我就此发现了诗歌会这个玩意儿。

and if you don't know what a poetry slam is,

什么是诗歌会呢？

it was a format come up with in America 30 years ago

这是30年前从美国兴起的一种形式，

as a way of tricking people into going to poetry events

忽悠人们参加诗歌活动，

by putting an exciting word like "slam" on the end.

方法就是在语句结尾加上一个令人激动的词， 比如“slam”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And each performer got three minutes to perform

每个表演者有3分钟的时间，

and then random audience members would hold up scorecards,

随机抽取观众举着记分卡，

and they would end up with a numerical score,

最终会有一个数字的评分，

and what this meant is,

这意味着，

it kind of broke down the barrier between performer and audience

它多少打破了表演者和观众的界限，

and encouraged the kind of connection with the listener.

鼓励与听众建立连结。

And what it also means is you can win.

这也意味着你能赢。

And if you win a poetry slam, you can call yourself a slam champion

如果你赢了一场诗歌会， 就能给自己冠名 诗歌会冠军，

and pretend you're a wrestler,

好像摔跤选手一样；

and if you lose a poetry slam you can say, "Oh, what? Poetry's a subjective art form,

如果你输了呢，也可以说 “哦，什么？诗歌是一种主观的艺术形式，

you can't put numbers on such things."

你可不能用数字得分去衡量它。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I loved it, and I got involved in these slams,

我深爱并积极参与这些诗歌会，

and I became the U.K. slam champion

赢得了全英国的诗歌会冠军，

and got invited to the Poetry World Cup in Paris,

还受邀参加了在巴黎举办的诗歌世界杯，

which was unbelievable.

真是令人难以置信，

It was people from all around the world speaking in their native languages

来自全世界的人们用母语作诗，

to be judged by five French strangers.

而裁判是五个互不认识的法国人。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And somehow, I won, which was great,

不知是怎么回事，我赢了，

and I've been able to travel the world since doing it,

还因此得以环游世界，

but it also means that this next piece

但这也意味着下一首诗

is technically the best poem in the world.

从技术上讲会是全世界最好的诗。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So...

好吧……

(Applause)

（鼓掌）

According to five French strangers.

由五位互不认识的法国裁判裁定的。

So this is "Paper People."

题目是《纸片人》

I like people.

我喜欢人。

I'd like some paper people.

我想要一些纸片人。

They’d be purple paper people. Maybe pop-up purple paper people.

紫色的、也许是弹立式的紫色纸片人。

Proper pop-up purple paper people.

合适的、弹立式的紫色纸片人。

"How do you prop up pop-up purple paper people?"

"怎么能弹起弹立式的紫色纸片人？“

I hear you cry. Well I ...

我听见你在大叫。

I’d probably prop up proper pop-up purple paper people

我也许能弹起合适的弹立式的紫色纸片人，

with a proper pop-up purple people paperclip,

利用合适的弹立式的紫色纸片人夹子，

but I’d pre-prepare appropriate adhesives as alternatives,

我要提前准备好合适的胶水作为备用，

a cheeky pack of Blu Tack just in case the paper slipped.

一大堆蓝丁胶，以防纸片滑到。

Because I could build a pop-up metropolis.

因为我能建立一个弹立式的大都会，

but I wouldn’t wanna deal with all the paper people politics.

却不想处理那些纸片人的政治。

paper politicians with their paper-thin policies,

纸片政治家那薄如纸片的政策，

broken promises without appropriate apologies.

违背诺言也不去适当的道歉。

There’d be a little paper me. And a little paper you.

纸片人就是你我的缩影。

And we could watch paper TV and it would all be pay-per-view.

我们看的也全是付费点播纸片电视节目。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We’d see the poppy paper rappers rap about their paper package

我们看到深红色的纸片RAP歌手， 以纸片包裹为题进行即兴说唱，

or watch paper people carriers get stuck in paper traffic on the A4.

看到纸片快递员在A4纸上堵车。

(Laughter) Paper.

（笑声）纸片。

There’d be a paper princess Kate but we’d all stare at paper Pippa,

有一位纸片凯特公主， 而我们只管盯着纸片皮帕看，

and then we’d all live in fear of killer Jack the Paper-Ripper,

我们为纸片开膛手杰克而担惊受怕，

because the paper propaganda propagates the people's prejudices,

因为那些纸片政治宣传繁衍出群众的偏见，

papers printing pictures of the photogenic terrorists.

报纸上登的是那些颇上镜的恐怖分子照片，

A little paper me. And a little paper you.

纸片人就是你我的缩影。

And in a pop-up population people’s problems pop up too.

在人口暴增的国度，人们的问题也会尤其突出。

There’d be a pompous paper parliament who remained out of touch,

国会华而不实、不接地气，

and who ignored the people's protests about all the paper cuts,

完全忽视群众关于剪纸的抗议，

then the peaceful paper protests would get blown to paper pieces,

和平主义的纸片抗议者 会被先发制人的纸片警察

by the confetti cannons manned by pre-emptive police.

用五彩纸屑大炮轰成纸屑。

And yes there’d still be paper money, so there’d still be paper greed,

钱还是纸做的，钞票是贪婪的目标，

and the paper piggy bankers pocketing more than they need,

贪心的纸片银行家们藏进口袋的钱 远远超过他们需要的，

purchasing the potpourri to pepper their paper properties,

购买各种东西来扩充他们纸质的财产，

others live in poverty and ain’t acknowledged properly.

而他人则生活在贫穷困苦中， 闭目塞听。

A proper poor economy where so many are proper poor,

刚好的穷人普遍存在于刚好的贫穷经济中，

but while their needs are ignored the money goes to big wars.

穷人的需求被忽视； 钱都流向了大型的战争。

Origami armies unfold plans for paper planes

折纸军队展开了纸飞机计划，

and we remain imprisoned in our own paper chains,

我们被自身的纸片锁链禁锢，

but the greater shame is that it always seems to stay the same,

但更可耻的是这样的状况从未改变，

what changes is who’s in power choosing how to lay the blame,

变化的只不过是谁当权， 他们选择谁来背黑锅，

they’re naming names, forgetting these are names of people,

他们只是捏造各种名字， 却忘了这些都是人的的名字，

because in the end it all comes down to people.

而归根结底，所有问题的关键都在人。

I like people.

我喜欢人。

'Cause even when the situation’s dire,

因为当情势变得很坏时，

it is only ever people who are able to inspire,

只有人能相互激励，

and on paper, it’s hard to see how we all cope.

而在纸面上，克服困难的的过程难以显现。

But in the bottom of Pandora’s box there’s still hope,

不过，潘多拉的盒子底部还存有希望，

and I still hope 'cause I believe in people.

我任然怀抱希望，因我相信人的力量。

People like my grandparents.

就像我的祖父母，

Who every single day since I was born,

自从我出生后，

have taken time out of their morning to pray for me.

每个早上都抽出时间为我祈祷。

That’s 7892 days straight of someone checking I’m okay,

7892个日夜，每天关注我是否安好，

and that’s amazing.

真是太神奇了。

People like my aunt who puts on plays with prisoners.

就像我的姨妈，为囚犯们上演戏剧。

People who are capable of genuine forgiveness.

那些人能够真诚地原谅他人。

People like the persecuted Palestinians.

就像受到迫害的巴勒斯坦人。

People who go out of their way to make your life better,

那些人不怕麻烦，致力于改善他人的生活，

and expect nothing in return.

却不求回报。

You see, people have potential to be powerful.

可见，人有潜力变得强大。

Just because the people in power tend to pretend to be victims

只是因为当权者倾向于伪装成受害者，

we don’t need to succumb to that system.

我们无需屈服于那个系统。

And a paper population is no different.

纸片人的社会也并无不同。

There’s a little paper me. And a little paper you.

纸片人就是你我的缩影。

And in a pop-up population people's problems pop up too,

在人口暴增的国度，人们的问题也会尤其突出。

but even if the whole world fell apart then we’d still make it through.

就算天塌下来我们也能共度。

Because we’re people.

因为我们是人。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you very much. I've just got time for one more.

非常感谢，我还有一点时间再来一首。

For me, poetry has been the ultimate way of ideas without frontiers.

对我来说，诗歌是无边界思想的终极道路。

When I first started,

当我最初开始写诗时，

the people who inspired me were the ones with the amazing stories,

灵感往往来源于那些精彩的故事，

and I thought, as an 18-year-old with a happy life, it was too normal,

我觉得，对于一个18岁的幸福小伙来说， 这些都太普通了，

but I could create these worlds where I could talk about my experiences

但我能创造一个世界，来谈论自己的经历、

and dreams and beliefs.

梦想和信念。

So it's amazing to be here in front of you today.

今天我站在你们面前，就是一件神奇的事。

Thank you for being here.

感谢你们能来。

If you weren't here,

如果你们不在这儿，

it would be pretty much like the sound check yesterday.

就跟昨天的试音差不多。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And this is more fun.

这更有趣。

So this last one is called "The Sunshine Kid."

最后一首诗叫做“阳光男孩”。

Thank you very much for listening.

感谢聆听。

Old man sunshine was proud of his sun,

阳光老人为他的太阳而自豪，

And it brightened his day to see his little boy run,

看着这孩子奔跑就能让他心情雀跃，

Not because of what he’d done, nor the problems overcome,

无需他建功立业，也无需他克服万难。

But that despite that his disposition remained a sunny one.

尽管他的性格依然阳光，

It hadn’t always been like this.

可事实并不总是这样。

There’d been times when he’d tried to hide his brightness,

有时候他要藏起灿烂，

You see, every star hits periods of hardship,

每一颗明星都会经历艰难，

It takes a brighter light to inspire them through the darkness.

需要更强的光亮，在黑暗中指明方向。

If we go back to when he was born in a nebula,

如果我们回到他刚从星云中诞生的时候，

We know that he never was thought of as regular,

就知道他从未被看成泛泛之辈，

Because he had a flair about him,

因为他天资卓越，

To say the Midas touch is wrong

他说点石成金并无此事，

But all he went near seemed to turn a little bronze,

但他经过的地方都微微泛出铜光，

Yes this sun was loved by some more than others,

是的，人们或多或少爱着这颗太阳，

It was a case of Joseph and his dreamcoat and his brothers

约瑟夫、他的彩衣和他的兄弟就是一例，

Because standing out from the crowd had its pros and its cons,

鹤立鸡群之事，有好也有坏，

And jealousy created enemies in those he outshone

嫉妒心，让不如他的家伙成为了他的敌人，

Such as the Shadow People.

譬如那些阴影人。

Now the Shadow People didn’t like the Sunshine Kid,

阴影人可不喜欢阳光男孩，

Because he showed up the dark things the Shadow People did,

他揭露了阴影人做的暗黑勾当，

And when he shone he showed the places where the Shadow People hid,

他的光芒显示出阴影人藏匿的地方，

So the Shadow People had an evil plan to get rid of him,

于是阴影人计划把他除掉。

First up -- they made fun of his sunspots,

他们首先嘲笑他的太阳黑子，

Shooting his dreams from the sky, their words were gunshots,

从天上用唇枪舌剑攻击他的梦想，

Designed to remind him he wasn’t very cool

构陷说他不够酷，

And he didn’t fit in with any popular kids at school.

跟学校的风云人物格格不入。

They said his head was up in space and they would bring him down to Earth,

他们说他总是高高在上， 可得让他明白“云”“泥”并不一样，

Essentially he came from nothing and that is what he was worth,

他自虚无中诞生，虚无就是他的价值。

He’d never get to go to university to learn,

他永无可能考上大学，

Only degrees he’d ever show would be the first degree burns

他能得到的唯一学历，

From those that came too close,

就是靠近他的第一个被烧焦的学历。

they told him he was too bright,

他们说他太过明亮，

That’s why no one ever looked him in the eyes,

所以没人能够和他对视。

His judgment became clouded

他的判断因此蒙上了阴云，

So did the sky, With evaporated tears

天空充满了蒸发的眼泪，

as the sun started to cry.

太阳开始了哭泣。

Because the sunshine kid was bright, with a warm personality,

因为阳光男孩外表耀眼，性格温暖，

And inside he burned savagely

内心火热不停燃烧，

Hurt by the words and curses of the shadowy folk

被阴影人说出的明枪暗箭所伤，

who spoke holes in his soul and left cavities,

他的灵魂千疮百孔，

And as his heart hardened, his spark darkened,

他的心变得麻木，他的光变得晦暗，

Every time they called him names it cooled his flames,

他每次被骂，火焰都变得冰冷，

He thought they might like him if he kept his light dim

他以为只要保持暗淡，他们就能喜欢，

But they were busy telling lightning she had terrible aim,

他们却在忙于抱怨，嫌闪电的瞄准技术太烂

He couldn’t quite get to grips with what they said,

他不太理解他们说的话，

So he let his light be eclipsed by what they said,

所以他让日蚀发生，好如他们所言。

He fell into a Lone Star State like Texas,

他落入孤星之州德克萨斯，

And felt like he’d been punched in his solar plexus.

感到他的太阳神经丛遭到重击，

But that’s when Little Miss Sunshine came along

这时阳光小姐走了过来，

Singing her favorite song about how we’re made to be strong,

唱着她最爱的歌，让我们都变得坚强，

And you don’t have to be wrong to belong, Just be true to who you are,

你不必去委曲求全，只要好好去做真实的自己，

because we are all stars at heart.

因为大家的内心都是明星。

Little Miss Sunshine was hot stuff,

阳光小姐是个尤物，

The kind of girl when you looked at her

看着她

you forgot stuff,

就能忘却一切，

But for him, there was no forgetting her,

除了不能忘却她。

The minute he saw her her image burned in his retina,

只一眼，她的倩影就烙印在他的视网膜上，

She was out of this world, and she accepted him,

她超凡脱俗，她接受了他，

Something about this girl meant he knew whenever she was next to him,

他能感应伊人所在。

Things weren’t as dark as they seemed, and he dared to dream,

世事并非如此阴沉，还能让人敢于做梦，

Shadows were nowhere to be seen; when she was there he beamed,

只要她面露微笑，暗影就不知所踪。

His eyes would light up in ways that can’t be faked,

他的双眼发亮，无法假装，

When she grinned her rays erased the razor-tipped words of hate,

她的微笑放出光芒， 擦去了含恨言论的刀光，

They gave each other nicknames, they were "cool star" and "fun sun,"

他们亲昵地称呼对方， 一个是“酷酷的明星”另一个是“逗逗的太阳”，

And gradually the shadowy damage became undone,

不知不觉中，阴影的伤害完全愈合，

She was one in a septillion, and she was brilliant,

她是一千的八次方里挑一，她太棒了，

Could turn the coldest blooded reptilians vermillion,

能让最冷血的爬虫变得火红，

Loved by billions, from Chileans to Brazilians,

她被亿万人爱戴，不管是智利人还是巴西人，

And taught the Sunshine Kid the meaning of resilience.

教会阳光男孩，什么是坚韧的意义。

She said: “All the darkness in the world

她说：“世上的一切黑暗

cannot put out the light from a single candle

都不能扑灭一抹烛光，

So how the hell can they handle your light?

它们有怎么可能影响你的光亮？

Only you can choose to dim it, and the sky is the limit,

只有你自己才能觉得让光变暗， 天际才是界限，

so silence the critics by burning.”

燃烧吧，让批评的人无话可说。”

And if eyes are windows to the soul then she drew back the curtains

如果说眼睛是心灵的窗户， 她就是拉开了窗帘，

And let the sun shine through the hurting.

让阳光穿透伤痛。

In a universe of adversity these stars stuck together,

在逆境的宇宙中，这些恒星聚在一起，

And though days became nights the memories would last forever,

就算白昼变成黑夜，回忆也能长久留存，

Whether the weatherman said it or not, it would be fine,

不管天气预报怎么说，一切都能变好，

'Cause even behind the clouds the kid could still shine.

因为阳光即使在云朵背后也能闪耀。

Yes, the Sunshine Kid was bright, with a warm personality,

是啊，阳光男孩外表耀眼，性格温暖，

And inside he burned savagely,

内心火热不停燃烧，

Fueled by the fire inspired across galaxies

跨越星系的火焰和教他信念的女孩，

By the girl who showed him belief.

正是他的燃料。

Thank you very much.

非常感谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）