那曾分配給埃及的時間

And the time that was given

叫做睡夢，

to Egypt was Sleep,

而行走在那裏的人

and they who walked there

叫夢遊者。

were called The Sleepwalkers.

大步穿過滾燙的塵霧

Strode on through burning dust

在泛著藍色釉光的夏天，

in the blue-fired glaze of summer,

穿過守時的洪水，

through unfailing flood,

穿過沙暴和熱病。

through sandstorm and sunstroke.

存在，睡覺，蘇醒……

To be, to sleep, to awaken…

那是一隻昆蟲的天賦。

that was the gift of an insect.

帶著閃光的鷹眼

With the glittering eye of a hawk

和朱鷺的喙；

and the beak of an ibis,

帶著粗糲的狗的舌頭；

with the rasping tongue of a dog;

然而比牠們全都強大

but stronger than any of these,

漂流與寂靜的法則

the law of drift and silence

透過蘆葦的私語

overheard through reed-whispers

和不歇止的犬吠

and unstilled barking.

傳入耳中。

Twilight, the one returning kingdom,

黃昏，一個王朝在歸返，

vaster than daybreak,

比黎明更廣闊，

the unroofed temple where scribe

在沒有屋頂的神廟，書吏

and monkey-priest sorted the strings

和猴子祭司整理了鳥

of birds; on a thread of smoke

的腸子；順著一根煙柱

the clay spirit climbed,

陶土的靈魂攀爬，

born of the light and the lotus.

從光與蓮花中誕生。

And then, in the green heart

然後，在石頭的

of stone, to sleep at last.

綠色心臟，終於入眠。

Among the restless, the sun-driven,

躋身不安的，被太陽驅逐的中間，

to be the one cured and stationed

成為那個治愈的、久駐的

man: Lord of the death-watch.

男人：守靈人的王。

And night was a cobra, coiled

夜是一條眼鏡蛇，盤成

in the doubled knot of eternity;

一個永恒的雙結；

symmetrical in sleep,

在睡眠中保持對稱，

but steeped in poison, waiting

浸滿毒液，等待著

for the first king to wake.

最先醒來的法老。