As I drive my parents home through the snow

穿过风雪，我驶车送二老

their frailty hesitates on the edge of a mountainside.

在山崖边他们衰弱的身躯感到犹豫

I call over the cliff

我向山谷高喊

only snow answers.

只有积雪给我回答

They talk quietly

他们悄悄地谈话

of hauling water of eating an orange

说到提水，吃桔子

of a grandchild's photograph left behind last night.

孙子的照片，昨晚忘记拿了。

When they open the door of their house they disappear.

他们打开自己的家门，身影消失了

And the oak when it falls in the forest who hears it through miles and miles of silence?

橡树在林中倒下，谁能听见？隔着千里的沉寂。

They sit so close to each other; as if pressed together by the snow.

他们这样紧紧挨近地坐着，好象被雪挤压在一起。