At my desk I remember

桌前坐下

looking through another:

想念那片窗

fluid light, now and then soft rain,

液光柔雨，來去都那麼單薄

yellow leaves strewn along the wind’s arc.

零碎的黃葉慢慢滑出風的大弧

Between the lapping, broken rooftiles,

破爛的簷瓦互相切入

a green and eastward creep of moss,

瓦坑上，幻青的苔蘚向東流滲

grassblades tender as infant’s hair

嬰孩毛髮一樣幼微的小草

tickling autumn’s armpit.

癢癢地搔著季節的腋窩

Below, the hen jabbering

下面是母雞和許多的小雞

with her chicks. On the long slate beside the well,

吱吱咯咯，鄰居木屐

a neighbor’s clogs,

得得敲響井旁的長石板

their wooden clatter.

我常常看著雨水

I’d watch rainwater slide

在拱起的圓瓦上騰跳、滑脫

leaping from the roof.

春天好像永遠乾不起來

Spring was never dry.

餘下的小片天空

The one clear patch of sky

也一點一滴給浸濕

surrounded bit by bit, sodden

溶溶軟爛，像紙要破

as a paper sack before bursting.

我坐在枯舊的小木桌前習字，發呆

I’d sit at my old desk, practicing characters,

溫暖的墨煙味

mind adrift. The scent of warm ink,

和飄忽的白蘭花香

the waft of magnolias,

把風景都染成黑白了

dyed the landscape black and white.

餘下的光慢慢褪落

As light drained,

綠暗了，褐重了，赭紅灰淡

greens deepened, browns grew heavy, ochres thinned.

深淺交蝕的疊影

Shadows melded dark and light, swallowing

再分不出真幻

till the real fled the unreal.

鍵盤下著密密的秋雨

Now beside my keyboard,

窗台上，依然活著一點光

dense November rain.

一閃而過的窗景碎塊

On the windowsill, a feather of light.

夾雜著童年和童年的等待

Beyond the glass, broken visions

那時我竟對窗難過

laced with childhood’s wish.

以為討厭的習字功課

How sad it seemed,

一定永遠寫不完

bound to my lessons,

thinking they would never end.