And the time that was given

那曾分配給埃及的時間

to Egypt was Sleep,

叫做睡夢，

and they who walked there

而行走在那裏的人

were called The Sleepwalkers.

叫夢遊者。

Strode on through burning dust

大步穿過滾燙的塵霧

in the blue-fired glaze of summer,

在泛著藍色釉光的夏天，

through unfailing flood,

穿過守時的洪水，

through sandstorm and sunstroke.

穿過沙暴和熱病。

To be, to sleep, to awaken…

存在，睡覺，蘇醒……

that was the gift of an insect.

那是一隻昆蟲的天賦。

With the glittering eye of a hawk

帶著閃光的鷹眼

and the beak of an ibis,

和朱鷺的喙；

with the rasping tongue of a dog;

帶著粗糲的狗的舌頭；

but stronger than any of these,

然而比牠們全都強大

the law of drift and silence

漂流與寂靜的法則

overheard through reed-whispers

透過蘆葦的私語

and unstilled barking.

和不歇止的犬吠

傳入耳中。

Twilight, the one returning kingdom,

vaster than daybreak,

黃昏，一個王朝在歸返，

the unroofed temple where scribe

比黎明更廣闊，

and monkey-priest sorted the strings

在沒有屋頂的神廟，書吏

of birds; on a thread of smoke

和猴子祭司整理了鳥

the clay spirit climbed,

的腸子；順著一根煙柱

born of the light and the lotus.

陶土的靈魂攀爬，

從光與蓮花中誕生。

And then, in the green heart

of stone, to sleep at last.

然後，在石頭的

Among the restless, the sun-driven,

綠色心臟，終於入眠。

to be the one cured and stationed

躋身不安的，被太陽驅逐的中間，

man: Lord of the death-watch.

成為那個治愈的、久駐的

男人：守靈人的王。

And night was a cobra, coiled

in the doubled knot of eternity;

夜是一條眼鏡蛇，盤成

symmetrical in sleep,

一個永恒的雙結；

but steeped in poison, waiting

在睡眠中保持對稱，

for the first king to wake.

浸滿毒液，等待著

最先醒來的法老。