我的外婆用一把带锯齿的刀

My grandmother cored them

去掉它的瓜瓤。

with a serrated knife

这双手曾经和她一起

with her hands that had come

在大屠杀中幸存——

through the slaughter -

所以一个小时又一个小时

So many hours I stared at the blotch

我盯着她指节上的斑点

marks on her knuckles

她的有力的手指绕着

her strong fingers around the

长长的绿色西葫芦。

long green gourd.

在一个玻璃碗里放着馅料——

In a glass bowl the stuffing was setting –

切好的羊肉，番茄泥，生大米，柠檬汁，

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

热砂子上烘烤过的调料

a sand brew of spices

来自于她出生的河岸。

from the riverbank of her birth.

抓住这些图像

Can holding on to this image

会让我产生真正的时间感吗？

help me make sense of time?

现世的波涛，

The temporal waves,

拍击然后轻吻

waves smashing and lipping

化成齑粉的岩石；一只鸟儿

the pulverised stone; a bird dissolving

融化在傍晚多云的岸边；

into a cloud bank in late day;

我们走过的那些快乐和悲伤的脚步

the happy and sad steps we walked

沿着白墙和铁桥，

along the plaster walls and steel bridges,

玻璃立面，闪闪发光的钱铺就的高速公路

the glass facades, highways of glistening money –

我们在梦中抚摸的事物

objects we caress in dreams

而醒来时只看到黑暗的门厅

from which we wake to find the hallway dark

在楼梯底下的一盏小灯，

the small light at the bottom of the stairs,

厨房在气味中等待你

the kitchen waiting with a scent

西葫芦，用橄榄油炒的菜

of zucchini, sautéed in olive oil

大蒜，披萨草，

garlic, oregano,

昨夜打开的红酒的香味——

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

喝一口白水开始新的一天。

of cold water to bring on the day.