我們不過是“ships that pass in the night”

肖穎

美國詩人朗費羅在《路畔旅舍的故事》中，曾寫過這樣一首詩：“Ships that pass in the night， and speak each other in passing. Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness；So on the ocean of life， we pass and speak one another. Only a look and a voice， then darkness again and a silence.”詩的大意是：夜色籠罩的海面上，有兩艘小船相向而行，它們在某一刻交匯，擦肩而過，彼此朝著各自的軌道繼續航行，不再相遇。而人生又何嘗不是如此？我們與一些人偶然相遇，大家彼此相識，然后注定成為對方生命中的過客。

在生活中，我們常常用朗費羅這首詩中的“ships that pass in the night”來表示人與人之間短暫的相遇，就像夜色中航行于海面的兩艘小船。雖然僅有一面之交，但是其中的因緣際會能讓彼此回味。下面，我們來看兩個關于它的使用情境：

Last week， a beautiful girl moved in my neighbourhood， and I helped her carry all things into her house. But yesterday she just moved away. So we were like two ships that passed in the night.

上周，我家旁邊搬來了一個大美女，我還幫她把行李搬進了家里。可是，昨天她突然搬走了。我們就好像是萍水相逢一樣。

Jack：“Hi， Tom. Im just in town. Would you like to have a dinner with me？”

Tom：“Oh， Jack， I was just away on my business trip.”

Jack：“Too bad. Its almost that we were two ships that passed in the night.”

杰克：“喂，湯姆，我剛到這兒，我們一起吃晚飯吧？”

湯姆：“哎呀，杰克，我剛出發，在出差的路上。”

杰克：“真不湊巧。我們好像是注定要錯過一樣。”