It was like this:

是这样的：

you were happy, then you were sad,

你曾快乐，然后悲伤，

then happy again, then not.

你又快乐，然后又悲伤。

It went on.

如此继续。

You were innocent or you were guilty.

你无辜或者你有罪。

Actions were taken, or not.

采取了行动，或者没有。

At times you spoke, at other times you were silent.

有时候你说话，其他时候你沉默。

Mostly, it seems you were silent—what could you say?

多半时候，你似乎是沉默——你能说什么呢？

Now it is almost over.

现在差不多结束了。

Like a lover, your life bends down and kisses your life.

像情人一样，你的生活弯下腰来亲吻你的生活。

It does this not in forgiveness—

这么做不是为了宽恕——

between you, there is nothing to forgive—

你们之间，没有什么需要宽恕——

but with the simple nod of a baker at the moment

而是像面包师一个简单的点头，

he sees the bread is finished with transformation.

当他看见面包已成形。

Eating, too, is a thing now only for others.

吃，现在也成了一件只为别人做的事。

It doesn’t matter what they will make of you

他们将用你或你的日子做出什么来

or your days: they will be wrong,

这不要紧：他们会犯错，

they will miss the wrong woman, miss the wrong man,

他们会怀念那错误的女人，怀念那错误的男人，

all the stories they tell will be tales of their own invention.

他们讲述的所有故事将只是他们自己的编造。

Your story was this: you were happy, then you were sad,

你的故事是这样的：你曾快乐，又曾悲伤，

you slept, you awakened.

你入睡，你醒来。

Sometimes you ate roasted chestnuts, sometimes persimmons.

有时候你吃烤栗子，有时候柿子。