小時學會摺出許多金銀

When I was small

形狀一致而意義不明

I learned to fold this gilded, silvered paper,

祖母把它們投向火堆

its meaning still obscure.

那些紙錢與金銀燃燒之火

Grandma tossed the squares of ghost money

在梯間明滅照出我們的身影

to the flames, their shimmer

墻壁上各種文字圖形

flickering the stairway, pulsing at our shadows.

也隨著它們晃蕩不定

Along the wall

pranced shifting characters, swaying forms.

互相參照引用彼此的抽象和詭異

盡是一般隱晦內裏的底蘊

Their veiled inner life,

無法看透。也感到一絲溫暖

masked in strange abstraction,

對逐漸扭曲變形的燃燒物

seemed impossible to know.

投注好奇和不捨

Yet some writhing filament of warmth

still drew me.

目中閃閃如電，現在慢慢熄滅

帶著祖母期盼的平安與福佑

The dying sparks electrified the eye

（不知她在祝願一個怎樣的明天

with Grandma’s prayer

認真地相信物件通過燃燒可到達

that fire could be passage

另一空間）那些餘燼好像在掙扎

to some safe and blissful realm.

緩緩地濡動，翻出僅存的能量

Blackening in the brazier,

在這方內鐵質的焦黑容器裏

these embers burned to utter

且待赤紅帶著祝願無聲息漸化成灰

one final, ardent wish,

last incandescence

before the ash.