Late December: my father and I

十二月下旬；我爸爸和我

are going to New York, to the circus.

前往纽约，去马戏团。

He holds me

他举着我

on his shoulders in the bitter wind:

在他肩膀上在刺骨的风中：

scraps of white paper

白纸碎片

blow over the railroad ties.

吹上铁路线

My father liked

我爸爸喜欢

to stand like this, to hold me

象这样站着，举起我

so he couldn't see me.

所以他看不见我。

I remember

我记得直视前方

staring straight ahead

进入我爸爸看见的世界；

into the world my father saw;

我学会

I was learning

承受它的空虚，

to absorb its emptiness,

大雪不落，

the heavy snow

在我们周围旋转。

not falling, whirling around us.