住在我家斜對面

My neighbor across the street

的鄰居，今天早上死了。

and down, died this morning.

結腸癌。最後四個月

Of colon cancer. Ending

他一直在觀察後院的鳥，

four months of watching

吃冰激淩，他的疼痛

birds in his back yard,

在一小滴嗎啡之下

and eating ice cream, his pain

無聲無息，嗎啡的劑量

dumbed by a morphine drip

被量取得過於精確，

so carefully calibrated

對此感到激賞的

only a machinist, which

只有曾經是機械師的他。

he was, could fully

還有他的妻子。

appreciate it. And his wife.

如此美好而可怕的一天

Such a fine and terrible

了結了一條命。

day to close out a life.

真的，這是你能夠看見

The first morning, really,

自己呼吸的第一個早晨；

you could see your breath;

陽光擦亮每一片

sunlight slicking every

仍然綠著的葉子。空氣

still-green leaf. The air

窒悶，刻薄，急躁不安。

windless, brisk, and edgy.

然後，來了輛白色面包車。

Then, the white van. Not

不是靈車。一輛普普通通的

a hearse. A plain white

白色面包車開了過來。車身上

van in the drive. No

一個字也沒有。只有

lettering at all. Just

兩個人。一個穿著一套

two men. One in an uncle’s

叔叔輩的人穿的灰衣服，

tired brown suit; his bulky

他肥胖的同伴沒穿外套

companion in shirtsleeves

跟在身後；兩個人都像是

following; both walking

穿著臥室的拖鞋在走。

as if in bedroom slippers;

他們把擔架車推上草坡，

wheeling their gurney up

穿過閃亮的露水，

the lawn to the rear of the house

紅色的天竺葵，

through the sparkling dew,

一大叢粉色的鳳仙花，

past the red geraniums

來到屋子後面——

and drifts of pink

www.死亡.com

impatiens

還早了點。還沒有小孩

—

唧唧喳喳地走向

www.death.com.

橙色的校車。年輕的夫婦

It’s early. No children

在他們的複式公寓

maunder yet toward their

緊閉的門後

orange bus. And young

准備開始一天的

couples, behind the closed

勞作。沒有一輛車經過。

doors of their duplexes,

在這樣一個郊區，沒有

ready themselves for a day’s

系著圍裙的女人端著

work. Not a car passes.

扣起的盤子走近

In such suburbs, no

死亡之門。晚些時候，

aproned women approach

我會記起他是如何

death’s door bearing

送掉他最後的

covered dishes. Later,

精密工具。再晚一些，

I’ll remember how he gave

臥室的窗簾將被

away his last precision

拉起，窗戶將會打開，

tools. And still later,

空氣將進入屋內，

bedroom shades will be

接著是光，接著是沉寂。

raised, windows opened,

and air enter the house,

and light, and silence.