The tea is bitter; I remove the bag casually

茶太苦了，我撈起茶包隨手放在旁邊的

to the napkin by my cup, and soon enough find its white field, too,

餐巾上。再低頭時，只見白色的雪地

staining steadily as a browning edge of leaf, spreading

緩緩滲染了一片棕色葉子，逐漸擴大

like the inevitable twilight, like an awareness of music,

像一個無可阻擋的黃昏，像流瀉的音樂

like the lamp light that is drowning in the known winter outside.

和燈色，逐漸淹沒窗外眼睛可見的冬天

A blank page gets ruined like this, soon as words are put down

再沒法還原為一張白紙了，自從寫下字

and sealed, pressed into layers, or torn carefully

寄出去，壓斂成為岩層，撕裂成為

into shapes fragmentary and suggestive. Or say a letter does pass through winding alleys to a secret address, where the words

山丘，更破碎也更豐富，寄出的信

are reversed in a painter’s mirror, in the shadow of a dance

走過迂迴的小巷尋找地址，信上的字

that is the silhouette of flowers on a peeling wall.

畫畫的人把它顛倒在鏡上，跳舞的人

Delivered so, they are no longer the same words; they drift

把它反映在牆上，染滿了剝落和花影

on an expanse of water, held in the surges and ripples of waves.

收到時不再是原來的字了，自由漂浮

Like a note in a bottle, my words are found and unravelled

在一片水上，沾滿了波光的動盪和瀲灔

right in front of my eyes and I’m all but undone.

是瓶中的稿給你拾起，當你徐徐展讀

You stare out, then down, recalling—what?

我不免帶着在場的尷尬，不知如何期待

When you look up at me, your eyes both laugh and cry.

你凝視前面，不知在想什麽，垂下頭

You haven’t seen between my lines but read easily the bitterness in the tea.

又抬起來，好像笑過也好像哭過

Hands on the wheel and looking straight ahead in the mirror,

好像不明紙紋縱橫又像懂得茶的苦澀

you take the past born between us and in silence drive off.

手擱在駕駛盤上，眼看前邊又似回顧

仿佛帶着我的心情，你默默地離去