the small sweet tangerine

細嚐你從溫泉順手摘來

you plucked casually near a hot spring

一枚小小的甜柑

I taste with care

遠望對岸燈色璀燦

as light glitters from the far shore

中間隔著一大片黑暗

the vast black sheet between

恰似病人艱難的日子

so like the days a patient bears

蕃薯苖和百合

sweetpotato leaves and lilies

每日與鄰居碰頭

a brief nod to neighbors

若到了中午

near the vegetarian restaurant at 12

素菜館旁依舊燒響午炮

the Noonday Gun will fire

也無人圍聚

crowd or not

盤中是腰果和腐皮

cashews and tofu skin in the dish

澆上橘紅醬汁會更誘人？

tastier with a dash of that vermilion sauce?

路過無酒招待

no wine for the passerby

望從素菜啖出百味

may the vegetables unfold a hundred flavors

遠道而來的客人

guest from faraway

我們回首曾在那麽多城市碰頭

we’ve met in so many cities

你跟著還要去北京、開羅、才回到首爾

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

我讓你坐這兒眺望燈光

I ask you to sit with me and see the lights

通過來往客人晃動

diners come and go

但見窗下黑暗拆建裏也有光影

beyond the glass, glint and shadow

桌上剝開的柑皮

shift through a gutted building

在這刻

at this moment

舒成一朵橘色小花

on the table

the peels of the tangerine

open into bloom