The banana plant that thrashed outside my lover’s window

我恋人窗外猛烈摇摆的香蕉树显得不真实。

seemed unreal. Our hours together felt like a dream:

我们在一起的时光像一场梦：

how he nudged a spider up the shower tile

他双手合拢，轻轻地推着蜘蛛爬上浴室瓷砖，

with a cupped hand, unwilling to hurt anything

不愿伤害任何活物。

alive. How unlike me, watching the slow turn

我却截然不同，看着天花板风扇缓慢旋转，

of the ceiling fan, wondering whose stanza I’d slipped

想知道自己滑入了谁的诗节。曾经，

into. Once, I could see how badly he wanted me

我能看出他多么渴望我真诚的言说。

to say something honest. My constellation of facts

但我事实的星座，无法拨挡他的悲伤。

could not parry his grief. The tide is low / The limes

潮水退了 / 青柠熟了 / 我今天看见了一只花椰菜水母。

are ripe / I saw a cauliflower jellyfish today. The sea

在我们共享的海面上，我无法承受讲述过往。

we shared, a surface I could not bear to speak past.

我用了我的言语。我织了一张真相之网，抛向

I used my words. I wove a net of truth and cast it

我们之间。下雨时，我聆听

between us. And when it rained, I listened

香蕉叶的声音，相信自己能听见它们的颜色。

to the banana leaves, believing I could hear their color.