总统就职“真人秀”：有诗才有远方

2021年1月20日，对地球上每一个角落的每一个人来说都可能是意义非凡。

第46届美国总统就职典礼，象征着一个时代的结束，一个新时代的开始。

如果把这场就职典礼比作一场最高规格、最多观众的真人秀，拜登总统无疑是第一主角。而在众多的配角中，年仅22岁的黑人女诗人阿曼达‧戈尔曼（Amanda Gorman）以她铿锵有力的诗朗诵而先声夺人，风头盖过了到场的三对前总统夫妇，盖过了同台的Lady Gaga等歌手，就连现场的25,000名国民警卫队士兵，也只是成了陪衬跑龙套，更不要说黯然离去的前总统川普夫妇。

自1961年约翰‧甘乃迪就职典礼起，每一届美国总统就职都会邀请一位诗人朗诵诗篇，这已成为一项传统。在拜登总统发表完就职演说之后，美国全国青年诗人桂冠得主阿曼达上台，充满激情地演绎了她自己刚刚完成的诗作《我们攀登之山峦》（The Hill We Climb），赢得满堂彩。新任副总统贺锦丽和前第一夫人米歇尔都大赞她表现出色，她的精彩诗句和出色朗诵使她成为当天各大媒体的头条人物，同时也成为社交媒体上的一个热搜话题。

先来看看各大英文媒体的标题是如何报道。

纽约时报：“阿曼达·戈尔曼以诗紧扣当今主旋律”。

英国广播公司：“阿曼达·戈尔曼：就职典礼诗人呼吁‘联合与团结’”

加通社：拜登就职典礼诗人铿锵朗诵，呼吁开启 “新篇章”

彭博社：就职诗人阿曼达·戈尔曼：“即使悲伤，我们也要成长”

CNN：“青年获奖诗人在拜登就职典礼上朗诵她绝美诗歌”

在社交媒体上同样是好评如潮。

各大媒体在油管上的阿曼达朗诵录像，收获了无数点击、观看和评语。在24小时之内，光是CNN的阿曼达录像观看人数就超过120万，其他媒体也都有几万到几十万不等的观看。

推特、Instagram等各大平台，也是推文不断，点赞无数。

著名美国电视主持人奥普拉在推文上写道：“我从未见过另一个年轻的女性让我感到如此骄傲！真棒，@TheAmandaGorman！Maya Angelou正在欢呼，我也是。”

前第一夫人希拉里也推文道：“@TheAmandaGorman的诗难道还不够令人惊艳吗？她答应要在2036年竞选总统，而我已迫不及待。”

一夜之间，阿曼达创作的儿童书《Change Sings: A Children's Anthem》在亚马逊畅销书排名跃升第一，奥巴马的白宫自传也只能屈居第二。

是什么魅力，让显赫政要，天王巨星，再到公众百姓为这个年仅22岁的洛杉矶诗人所折服？我们也许可以从她诗歌的字里行间管窥一斑。

诗中，她是这样描述自己：

“我们，一个国家和时代的继承者，

有一个瘦小的黑人女孩，

奴隶的后代、由单亲妈妈抚养长大，

可以梦想成为总统，

发现她正在为一位总统朗诵诗篇。”

阿曼达朗诵的诗，全长710个字，却典故不断，金句连连。部分句子取自圣经，也有取材于经典音乐剧《汉密尔顿》（Hamiliton）的对白，还有从已故总统约翰‧甘乃迪和已故黑人民权领袖马丁路德金生前的经典演说中取得灵感。

她诵到：

“国何以为国，

需致力于所有成员的文化、肤色、文字和状态。

因此，我们的目光不能只是凝视于我们彼此之间，

而是关注我们共同之面对。

我们消除鸿沟，是因为我们知道，

将未来放在首位，我们必须首先将分歧抛在一边。”

最后，全诗以富有哲理和感召力的诗句结束：

“只要我们有足够的勇气去看，就会看见光；只有我们有足够的勇气去看到它，那就总是有光。”

90后的阿曼达是历来肩负总统任职诗歌朗诵重任的最年轻诗人。她的杰出表现，感动了美国，也感动了世界。使世界重新看到了希望，美国不只是政治老人的你争我夺，也不只是“黑命贵”和“白人至上”的水火不容，还有更为可贵的年青一代的勤奋、多才和崛起。

如果这个世界真的“有诗和远方”，那么阿曼达在拜登总统就职典礼上的表现证明，有诗才有远方。

高度贴士

The Hill We Climb

When day comes we ask ourselves,
Where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice.
And yet the dawn is ours
before we knew it
Somehow we do it
Somehow we weathered and witnessed
a nation that isn’t broken
but simply unfinished

We the successors of a country and a time
Where a skinny black girl
Descended from slaves and raised by a single mother
Can dream of becoming president
Only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes we are far from polished
far from pristine
But that doesn’t mean that we are
striving to form a union that is perfect.

We are striving to forge our union with purpose
To compose a country committed to all cultures, colours, characters and
conditions of man.
And so we lift our gaze not to what stands between us
but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know to put our future first
We must first put our differences aside
We lay down our arms
So we can reach out our arms
To one another.
We seek harm to none and harmony for all.

Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true:
That even as we grieved, we grew
That even as we hurt, we hoped
That even as we tired, we tried.
That we’ll forever be tied together, victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat
But because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision
That everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid.

If we’re to live up to our own time
Then victory won’t lie in the blade
But in all the bridges we’ve made
That is the promise to glade
The hill we climb
If only we dare.
Because being American is more than a pride we inherit
It’s the past we step into
And how we repair it.
We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation
Rather than share it
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
it can never be permanently defeated.

In this truth,
in this faith we trust
For while we have our eyes on the future,
history has its eyes on us.
This is the era of just redemption.
We feared at its inception
We did not feel prepared to be the heirs
of such a terrifying hour
but within it we found the power
to author a new chapter.
To offer hope and laughter to ourselves.
So while we once we asked,
how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe?
Now we assert
How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us?

We will not march back to what was
but move to what shall be.
A country that is bruised but whole,
benevolent but bold,
fierce and free.
We will not be turned around
or interrupted by intimidation
because we know our inaction and inertia
will be the inheritance of the next generation.
Our blunders become their burdens.
But one thing is certain;
If we merge mercy with might,
and might with right,
then love becomes our legacy
and change our children’s birthright.

So let us leave behind a country
better than the one we were left with.
Every breath from my bronze pounded chest,
we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous one.
We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west,
We will rise from the windswept northeast
where our forefathers first realized revolution.
We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the midwestern states,
we will rise from the sunbaked south.
We will rebuild, reconcile and recover
and every known nook of our nation and
every corner called our country,
our people diverse and beautiful will emerge
battered and beautiful.

When day comes we step out of the shade,
aflame and unafraid,
The new dawn blooms as we free it.
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.

文/半张，业余自由写作人士。出生于上海，曾在亚、欧和北美上学、进修和工作。从千禧年起定居温哥华。