細嚐你從溫泉順手摘來

the small sweet tangerine

一枚小小的甜柑

you plucked casually near a hot spring

遠望對岸燈色璀燦

I taste with care

中間隔著一大片黑暗

as light glitters from the far shore

恰似病人艱難的日子

the vast black sheet between

蕃薯苖和百合

so like the days a patient bears

每日與鄰居碰頭

sweetpotato leaves and lilies

若到了中午

a brief nod to neighbors

素菜館旁依舊燒響午炮

near the vegetarian restaurant at 12

也無人圍聚

the Noonday Gun will fire

盤中是腰果和腐皮

crowd or not

澆上橘紅醬汁會更誘人？

cashews and tofu skin in the dish

路過無酒招待

tastier with a dash of that vermilion sauce?

望從素菜啖出百味

no wine for the passerby

遠道而來的客人

may the vegetables unfold a hundred flavors

我們回首曾在那麽多城市碰頭

guest from faraway

你跟著還要去北京、開羅、才回到首爾

we’ve met in so many cities

我讓你坐這兒眺望燈光

now you’re bound for Beijing, Cairo, then back to Seoul

通過來往客人晃動

I ask you to sit with me and see the lights

但見窗下黑暗拆建裏也有光影

diners come and go

桌上剝開的柑皮

beyond the glass, glint and shadow

在這刻

shift through a gutted building

舒成一朵橘色小花

at this moment

on the table

the peels of the tangerine

open into bloom