My neighbor across the street

住在我家斜對面

and down, died this morning.

的鄰居，今天早上死了。

Of colon cancer. Ending

結腸癌。最後四個月

four months of watching

他一直在觀察後院的鳥，

birds in his back yard,

吃冰激淩，他的疼痛

and eating ice cream, his pain

在一小滴嗎啡之下

dumbed by a morphine drip

無聲無息，嗎啡的劑量

so carefully calibrated

被量取得過於精確，

only a machinist, which

對此感到激賞的

he was, could fully

只有曾經是機械師的他。

appreciate it. And his wife.

還有他的妻子。

Such a fine and terrible

如此美好而可怕的一天

day to close out a life.

了結了一條命。

The first morning, really,

真的，這是你能夠看見

you could see your breath;

自己呼吸的第一個早晨；

sunlight slicking every

陽光擦亮每一片

still-green leaf. The air

仍然綠著的葉子。空氣

windless, brisk, and edgy.

窒悶，刻薄，急躁不安。

Then, the white van. Not

然後，來了輛白色面包車。

a hearse. A plain white

不是靈車。一輛普普通通的

van in the drive. No

白色面包車開了過來。車身上

lettering at all. Just

一個字也沒有。只有

two men. One in an uncle’s

兩個人。一個穿著一套

tired brown suit; his bulky

叔叔輩的人穿的灰衣服，

companion in shirtsleeves

他肥胖的同伴沒穿外套

following; both walking

跟在身後；兩個人都像是

as if in bedroom slippers;

穿著臥室的拖鞋在走。

wheeling their gurney up

他們把擔架車推上草坡，

the lawn to the rear of the house

穿過閃亮的露水，

through the sparkling dew,

紅色的天竺葵，

past the red geraniums

一大叢粉色的鳳仙花，

and drifts of pink

來到屋子後面——

impatiens

www.死亡.com

—

還早了點。還沒有小孩

www.death.com.

唧唧喳喳地走向

It’s early. No children

橙色的校車。年輕的夫婦

maunder yet toward their

在他們的複式公寓

orange bus. And young

緊閉的門後

couples, behind the closed

准備開始一天的

doors of their duplexes,

勞作。沒有一輛車經過。

ready themselves for a day’s

在這樣一個郊區，沒有

work. Not a car passes.

系著圍裙的女人端著

In such suburbs, no

扣起的盤子走近

aproned women approach

死亡之門。晚些時候，

death’s door bearing

我會記起他是如何

covered dishes. Later,

送掉他最後的

I’ll remember how he gave

精密工具。再晚一些，

away his last precision

臥室的窗簾將被

tools. And still later,

拉起，窗戶將會打開，

bedroom shades will be

空氣將進入屋內，

raised, windows opened,

接著是光，接著是沉寂。

and air enter the house,

and light, and silence.