風再次路過我的窗口

The wind walks past my window again

身著綠葉的盛裝。

wearing a dress of green leaves.

我抬起頭。沒有人。

I look up. But no one’s there.

我在研習《野生花卉

I’m studying

指南》。我剛發現屋後山坡上

A Field Guide to Wild-

那些長釘似的植物，

flowers

那些長著粉紅色細小的

. I’ve just discovered

響尾蛇的嘴的，是忍冬，

the tall, spiky ones on my back

這似乎非同尋常。

slope, the ones with heads of tiny,

我在晾香草。玫瑰聞起來

pink, rattler mouths, are woodbane,

像胡椒。胡椒像新鮮的羅勒。

and it seems to make a difference.

我在這陳舊的根菜窖裏

I’m curing herbs. Rose smell

寫作，一個好句子

of pepper. Pepper of fresh basil.

非同尋常。還有巴伯的

And here in the old root cellar

弦樂柔板。德·柏瓦雷

where I write, one good sentence

虔誠的柔板的開頭。

makes a difference. And Barber’s

這首詩就是一段柔板。

Adagio for Strings

緩緩的對管弦的思念。

. The opening

彷彿那個悶熱的八月夜晚

of the Boisvallee’s Religioso.

我跟朋友喝得大醉，我們大笑，

This poem is an adagio. A slow

出汗，挽著胳膊仰臥在

yearning of winds and strings.

酒的深處，在盛夏草地上

Like the hot August night I got

涼意習習的愛因斯坦空間，

drunk with friends, and laughing

像天使升向空中，

and sweating, we linked arms and lay

越過樹，越過瓦解的屋簷

back in the deep wine, the cool

和星辰，像音樂漸漸飄離

Einstinian space of summer grass,

趨近一個神秘的家園。

streaming upward like angels,

我在查閱芸香，迷迭香，

past trees, past crumbling eaves

甘甜的墨角蘭。合上

and stars, rising like music father

這本花之書。所有的故事

and father out the closer home.

都思念和歌唱，費德維特家族

So I’m checking the rue, the rose-

非同尋常。

mary, the sweet marjoram. I’m closing

香芹將沾上英格蘭的氣味；

the book of flowers. All stories

牛至和羅勒沾上希臘；

yearn and sing, Rodina Feldevertova,

迷迭香讓我們想起天堂。

and that makes a difference.

他們說你死了，十七歲時

The parsley will smell of England;

離奇死亡，在一艘返鄉的

the oregano and basil of Greece;

意大利客船上。如今你站在這裏，

the rosemary remind us of heaven.

超出一生，俯視自己的墓，

They say you died, mysteriously,

愛荷華城著名的黑天使，

at seventeen, homeward bound

你翅膀那鐵鑄的披風

on an Italian liner. Now you stand,

在陽光下抖開完美的

larger than life, over your own grave,

陰影，右翼指向高處

the famous Black Angel of Iowa City,

為了將我們庇護，左翼

the iron cape of your wings

迎向大地，要把我們聚攏。

spreading its perfect shadow in perfect

sunlight, the right one pointed

upward to protect us, the left

touching the earth, to gather us in.