It’s not the mirror that is draped but

被遮住的不是镜子，而是

what remains unspoken between us. Why

我们之间还没能说出口的话。为什么

say anything about death, how

要说什么死，或是必然，

the body comes to deploy the myriad worm

说什么身体是怎样指挥无数的蠕虫

as if it were a manageable concept not

就好像这只是可以消化的概念，而不是

searing exquisite singularity? To serve it up like

一个活生生、优美的个体？就让这成为

a eulogy or a tale of my or your own

一首挽歌，或是你我痛苦的

suffering. Some kind of self-abasement.

记录。似乎是某种自轻。

And so we continue waking to a decapitated sun and trees

所以我们继续看着无头的太阳醒来，树木

continue to irk me. The heart of charity

继续让我恶心。善的核心

bears its own set of genomes. You lug a bacterial swarm

有着自己的一套基因。你的膝盖弯曲处

in the crook of your knee, and through my guts

挂着一个细菌群，我的胃肠里

writhe helminth parasites. Who was ever only themselves?

蠕动的寄生虫在穿行。有谁只是他们自己？

At Leptis Magna, when your mother and I were young, we came across

我和你妈妈年轻的时候，在大莱波蒂斯撞见

statues of gods with their faces and feet cracked away by vandals. But

神像的脸和脚都被人肆意破坏，不过

for the row of guardian Medusa heads. No one so brave to deface those.

没有人敢碰那一排守护者美杜莎的头像。

When she spoke, when your mother spoke, even the leashed

她说话的时候，你妈妈说话的时候，就算

greyhound stood transfixed. I stood transfixed.

牵着的灰狗都会被震住。我被她震住。

I gave my life to strangers; I kept it from the ones I love.

我把一生都给了陌生人，没能给我爱的人。

Her one arterial child. It is just in you her blood runs.

她唯一的血脉，她的血只在你身体里流淌。