The wind walks past my window again

風再次路過我的窗口

wearing a dress of green leaves.

身著綠葉的盛裝。

I look up. But no one’s there.

我抬起頭。沒有人。

I’m studying

我在研習《野生花卉

A Field Guide to Wild-

指南》。我剛發現屋後山坡上

flowers

那些長釘似的植物，

. I’ve just discovered

那些長著粉紅色細小的

the tall, spiky ones on my back

響尾蛇的嘴的，是忍冬，

slope, the ones with heads of tiny,

這似乎非同尋常。

pink, rattler mouths, are woodbane,

我在晾香草。玫瑰聞起來

and it seems to make a difference.

像胡椒。胡椒像新鮮的羅勒。

I’m curing herbs. Rose smell

我在這陳舊的根菜窖裏

of pepper. Pepper of fresh basil.

寫作，一個好句子

And here in the old root cellar

非同尋常。還有巴伯的

where I write, one good sentence

弦樂柔板。德·柏瓦雷

makes a difference. And Barber’s

虔誠的柔板的開頭。

Adagio for Strings

這首詩就是一段柔板。

. The opening

緩緩的對管弦的思念。

of the Boisvallee’s Religioso.

彷彿那個悶熱的八月夜晚

This poem is an adagio. A slow

我跟朋友喝得大醉，我們大笑，

yearning of winds and strings.

出汗，挽著胳膊仰臥在

Like the hot August night I got

酒的深處，在盛夏草地上

drunk with friends, and laughing

涼意習習的愛因斯坦空間，

and sweating, we linked arms and lay

像天使升向空中，

back in the deep wine, the cool

越過樹，越過瓦解的屋簷

Einstinian space of summer grass,

和星辰，像音樂漸漸飄離

streaming upward like angels,

趨近一個神秘的家園。

past trees, past crumbling eaves

我在查閱芸香，迷迭香，

and stars, rising like music father

甘甜的墨角蘭。合上

and father out the closer home.

這本花之書。所有的故事

So I’m checking the rue, the rose-

都思念和歌唱，費德維特家族

mary, the sweet marjoram. I’m closing

非同尋常。

the book of flowers. All stories

香芹將沾上英格蘭的氣味；

yearn and sing, Rodina Feldevertova,

牛至和羅勒沾上希臘；

and that makes a difference.

迷迭香讓我們想起天堂。

The parsley will smell of England;

他們說你死了，十七歲時

the oregano and basil of Greece;

離奇死亡，在一艘返鄉的

the rosemary remind us of heaven.

意大利客船上。如今你站在這裏，

They say you died, mysteriously,

超出一生，俯視自己的墓，

at seventeen, homeward bound

愛荷華城著名的黑天使，

on an Italian liner. Now you stand,

你翅膀那鐵鑄的披風

larger than life, over your own grave,

在陽光下抖開完美的

the famous Black Angel of Iowa City,

陰影，右翼指向高處

the iron cape of your wings

為了將我們庇護，左翼

spreading its perfect shadow in perfect

迎向大地，要把我們聚攏。

sunlight, the right one pointed

upward to protect us, the left

touching the earth, to gather us in.