When I was small

小時學會摺出許多金銀

I learned to fold this gilded, silvered paper,

形狀一致而意義不明

its meaning still obscure.

祖母把它們投向火堆

Grandma tossed the squares of ghost money

那些紙錢與金銀燃燒之火

to the flames, their shimmer

在梯間明滅照出我們的身影

flickering the stairway, pulsing at our shadows.

墻壁上各種文字圖形

Along the wall

也隨著它們晃蕩不定

pranced shifting characters, swaying forms.

互相參照引用彼此的抽象和詭異

Their veiled inner life,

盡是一般隱晦內裏的底蘊

masked in strange abstraction,

無法看透。也感到一絲溫暖

seemed impossible to know.

對逐漸扭曲變形的燃燒物

Yet some writhing filament of warmth

投注好奇和不捨

still drew me.

目中閃閃如電，現在慢慢熄滅

The dying sparks electrified the eye

帶著祖母期盼的平安與福佑

with Grandma’s prayer

（不知她在祝願一個怎樣的明天

that fire could be passage

認真地相信物件通過燃燒可到達

to some safe and blissful realm.

另一空間）那些餘燼好像在掙扎

Blackening in the brazier,

緩緩地濡動，翻出僅存的能量

these embers burned to utter

在這方內鐵質的焦黑容器裏

one final, ardent wish,

且待赤紅帶著祝願無聲息漸化成灰

last incandescence

before the ash.