I can remember the early mornings—how the stubble,

我犹记得那个清晨，那条傲霜残枝

A little proud with frost, snapped as we walked.

如何在我们漫步经过时突然折断。

How the John Deere tractor hood pulled heat

在我们给拖拉机罩充气时

Away from our hands when we filled it up with gas.

我们的手是怎么擦热的。

And the way the sun brought light right out of the ground.

以及落日的阳光从地面撤回的路线。

It turned on a whole hill of stubble as easily as a single stone.

它就像一块石头那样，使残枝堆成的小山兴奋起来。

Breathing seemed frail and daring in the morning.

早上的呼吸是虚弱而放肆的。

To pull in air was like reading a whole novel.

吸进空气的时刻仿如读下一整本小说。

The angleworms, turned up by the plow, looked

被耕犁翻出来的蚯蚓，看似

Uneasy, like shy people trying to avoid praise.

心神不安，就像容易害羞的人儿在躲避表扬。

For a while we had goats. They were like turkeys

我们和山羊待了一会。它们像一群火鸡，

Only more reckless. One butted a red Chevrolet.

只是更莽撞。其中一只用角顶了一辆红色汽车。

When we washed up at noon, we were more ordinary.

当我们中午洗干净了脸和手，我们更加平庸。

But the water kept something in it of the early morning.

但清水把早晨的一些物事留了下来。