Plea for a Captive

By W. S. Merwin

Woman with the caught fox

By the scruff1. scruff: 后頸部。, you can drop your hopes:

It will not tame though you prove kind,

Though you entice2. entice: 引誘。it with fat ducks

Patiently to your fingertips

And in dulcet3. dulcet: 悅耳的，常常形容聲音，在此指用悅耳的聲音呼喚以表達(dá)愛(ài)意。love enclose it

Do not suppose it will turn friend,

Dog4. dog: v. 跟著，比喻像狗一樣跟著。your heels, sleep at your feet,

Be happy in the house,

No,

It will only trot to and fro5. trot: 小跑；to and fro: 來(lái)回地，往復(fù)地。,

To and fro, with vacant eye,

Neither will its pelt improve

Nor its disposition, twisting

The raw song of its debasement

Through the long nights, and in your love,

In your delicate meats tasting

Nothing but its own decay

(As at first hand ! have learned)

Oh

Kill it at once or let it go.

抓住狐貍后頸往前拖的女人，

你可以放棄你的希望：

它不會(huì)馴服，即使你善待它，

即使你用肥鴨引誘它，

耐心地引誘它來(lái)到你手邊，

用迷人的愛(ài)擁抱它，

不要以為它會(huì)變成朋友，

跟在你身后，睡在你腳邊，

在屋里很快活，

不，

它只會(huì)在屋里跑來(lái)跑去，

跑來(lái)跑去，兩眼茫然，

它的毛皮不會(huì)有絲毫改善，

它的品性也不會(huì)，它只會(huì)

因屈辱而哼出原始的悲歌，

徹夜不停，不會(huì)從你的愛(ài)、

從你喂它的肉食中品嘗出

任何味道，除了自身的滅亡

（正如當(dāng)初它了解到那樣）

哦，

要么放了它，要么立即殺了它。