Bright as boatwash
明朗如船洗
we head for Montreal,
我们出发去蒙特利尔
to Will’s house.
去威尔家
Will’s birthday.
威尔的生日
Here’s Will!
这就是威尔
New green sofa,
崭新的绿色沙发
glass of Malbec,
一杯葡萄酒
roughhousing with the dog on the rug.
简陋的房间，地毯上有一只狗
I love the rug.
很喜欢这块地毯
It’s blue like a swimming pool.
游泳池般的蓝色
Will gives us T-shirts from Japan.
威尔送给我们从日本带来的T恤
We give him bath bombs.
我们送他几块泡澡香皂
Ruben and Ed show up from Buenos Aires.
鲁本和艾德也从不易诺斯艾利斯赶来
We set off for Parc X.
我们出发去老城区
Get lost.
迷路了
Find Parc X.
找到老城区
Sit at outdoor tables.
坐在露天餐台
Waiter draws a breath of horror
我将冰块放在酒里
when I put an ice cube in my wine
服务生惊讶得倒抽一口凉气
but then, discovering
然后，我们想起来
it’s Will’s birthday,
今天是威尔的生日
brings us course after course
一道菜接着一道菜
including an octopus flavored with pine.
包括松木风味的鱿鱼
Dinner goes on and on.
晚餐一直进行着
Birthday gâteau to finish and all the waiters
生日宴会要结束了
standing round to sing, handing out Calvados.
所有服务生站成一个圈，斟上白兰地，唱着生日歌
It rains.
下雨了
But we are under an awning.
但我们有遮雨篷
That seems perfect.
一切似乎很完美
Drive Ruben and Ed to their hotel.
开车送鲁本和埃德到酒店
Everyone hugs everyone.
一个一个依次拥抱
Back at Will’s
回到威尔家
Will says best birthday since 1968.
威尔说这是1968以来过得最好的生日
I have some reservations but they are narcissist
我持保留意见，但他们不会在乎别人的感受
once again too cold to wear my smashing orange dress,
我已经重复很多遍，比如说
for example.
天太冷，我不能穿那件惊艳的橘色长裙
I always say this but it’s true, there are
so many things
我总是这么说，但这是真的
I don’t understand,
那么多事情
I don’t mean steak tartare,
我不能理解
我当然不是在说牛排酱
I mean irony, corpses, how to not
see yourself everywhere in comparison.
我是在说这可笑的，死去的躯体
How to see instead what’s there.
怎样才能不通过比较来认识自己
Recently having learned to recognize the type of tree called sycamore,
怎样看到自己本来的样子
I see them in any forest—
the ones that look harrowed, in shreds, but
最近, 我学会了识别一种梧桐树
go also
他们在森林里到处都是
straight up into life,
看起来苍凉，支离破碎, 但
却也是
like Will’s dog who, although old and may not last the year,
笔直向上深入生命
I saw soar across the swimming pool on no feet.
就像威尔的狗，已经很老了，估计活不过今年
我正看见它，不用脚，鹰一样飞过游泳池