My grandmother cored them

我的外婆用一把带锯齿的刀

with a serrated knife

去掉它的瓜瓤。

with her hands that had come

这双手曾经和她一起

through the slaughter -

在大屠杀中幸存——

So many hours I stared at the blotch

所以一个小时又一个小时

marks on her knuckles

我盯着她指节上的斑点

her strong fingers around the

她的有力的手指绕着

long green gourd.

长长的绿色西葫芦。

In a glass bowl the stuffing was setting –

在一个玻璃碗里放着馅料——

chopped lamb, tomato pulp, raw rice, lemon juice,

切好的羊肉，番茄泥，生大米，柠檬汁，

a sand brew of spices

热砂子上烘烤过的调料

from the riverbank of her birth.

来自于她出生的河岸。

Can holding on to this image

抓住这些图像

help me make sense of time?

会让我产生真正的时间感吗？

The temporal waves,

现世的波涛，

waves smashing and lipping

拍击然后轻吻

the pulverised stone; a bird dissolving

化成齑粉的岩石；一只鸟儿

into a cloud bank in late day;

融化在傍晚多云的岸边；

the happy and sad steps we walked

我们走过的那些快乐和悲伤的脚步

along the plaster walls and steel bridges,

沿着白墙和铁桥，

the glass facades, highways of glistening money –

玻璃立面，闪闪发光的钱铺就的高速公路

objects we caress in dreams

我们在梦中抚摸的事物

from which we wake to find the hallway dark

而醒来时只看到黑暗的门厅

the small light at the bottom of the stairs,

在楼梯底下的一盏小灯，

the kitchen waiting with a scent

厨房在气味中等待你

of zucchini, sautéed in olive oil

西葫芦，用橄榄油炒的菜

garlic, oregano,

大蒜，披萨草，

a waft of last night’s red wine – a gulp

昨夜打开的红酒的香味——

of cold water to bring on the day.

喝一口白水开始新的一天。