從白色的石頭間穿過，死者

When I walk beside their white stones, these dead

不離我們更遠，也不更近

seem no closer, but no farther,

墓地總是這樣茂盛

the cemetery so luxuriant,

作為風景，總是這樣獨立

its own landscape

春天它更綠，石頭更白

green with spring, the stones even whiter.

我的父親，今天是一頭水牛

Today, my father’s a water buffalo

在林間空地上吃草

grazing forest glades,

比生前要強壯、隔絕

stronger, more solitary than before.

那些更小的動物

Those smaller creatures

可能是我的祖父、祖母

could be grandfather, grandmother.

我的外公，像山羊一樣順從

One’s gone docile as a goat.

一隻小鳥飛過，或一隻蝴蝶

A small bird passes, a butterfly,

它們是更遠的祖先

older ancestors,

地上闔上的棺木就像

their coffins underground

手邊的這個豆莢

like bean-pods in the palm.

墓地在郊外提醒著人們

At the edge of town, the cemetery knoll

用它山頭的形狀

stands to remind. I stop a moment

我從山坡上下來或站在原地

on its downward slope,

像草木間的另一件東西

unlike the grass or gravestones,

既不同於草木也不同於墓碑

yet one thing more among them.