At the foot of the mountain, we stop climbing.

登山在山腳終止，不是不想

We’d go higher, but the guard at the reservoir

攀上山頂，是被守山人攔住，

says we look like arsonists.

理由是你我像潛在縱火者

—Why should we start a fire? Perverse suspicion,

——我們為什麼縱火？變態的懷疑，

a system against people at every turn.

說明制度從小處反對人——

We change our route to the dam,

不得已我們只好改走水庫大壩，

strolling along, eyes open for any joy.

沿壩溜達——觀察，任何地方都能帶來

A dry reservoir’s extraordinary,

樂趣——一座乾涸水庫也有不凡的境界：

its desolation a blank screen

它的荒涼等待著由想像改造

—huge sweeps of green adrift with clouds.

——我看碧綠千頃，上下都是浮雲；

I might walk on water, casual as the immortals

看自己正淩波微步，逍遙等於仙人

—well, no matter. What counts

——當然，有沒有這些不重要。

is this: one step back, we’re just landscape,

重要的是如果退後一步，我和你也成為風景，

dissolved into nature—joining vastness,

融入自然成為它的一部分——更廣大的部分，

the shuddering wind that bears sweet fragrance.

譬如風搖晃樹木送來沁人肺腑的清香，

Wildflowers, scattered like glittering, starry eyes of earth,

野花星星點點，猶如大地閃爍的瞳仁，

only mark us off, saying

不過是襯托你我；同時也告訴我們，

nothing human’s so important, neither the fading friendship

人間事沒有什麼了不起，不管是友誼消失，

nor the marriage burned to ash, all past.

還是灰飛煙滅的婚姻，都是可拋棄的過去

Not sure about you—what was finished

——我不知道你怎樣——我的確

I cast loose. These days

已拋棄很多過去。最近，我看山是山，

I see the mountain as mountain,

又不是山；看水是水，又不是水。

yet not mountain; I see water as water,

yet not water.