Third sister,

排行第三的姊妹，

aunt one forgets to send a card to.

寄明信片時遺漏的姨母。

Boy on a bench, second smallest,

替補席上的男孩，倒數第二個矮小，

not quick, not precise, not cunning.

不夠快，不夠准確，不夠機靈。

Culled chick, branch-bruised peach,

淘汰的雞仔，枝條刮傷的桃子，

chair wobbly, unused, set in a corner.

鬆散的椅子，沒用了，擺在角落。

For some, almost good, almost lucky

有時候，未被選中

not to be chosen,

稱得上好事，稱得上幸運，

though equally accidental—

儘管機會均等——

the thirty-year-buried land mine

埋了三十年的地雷

chooses the leg of another.

選中了別人的腿。

(How the mouth struggles

（嘴巴猶豫著

to say it: lucky, good.)

說出：幸運，還好。）

Most are not chosen, most mostly watch.

多數未被選中，多數眼睜睜看著。

So it must be.

只能如此。

The watched

被觀看者

(not escaping pride, not truly minding)

（免不了驕傲，但並不真的在意）

bemoan their responsibilities,

抱怨他們的責任，

so many anxieties, demands, complications.

太多焦慮，要求，太複雜。

And still: any rabbit the center

不管怎樣：每隻兔子

of its own rabbit world,

都以兔子世界的為中心，

its universe axis a nest of tamped-down grasses.

牠的宇宙中軸是一窩踩實的草。

It looks out its ground-level eyes,

牠用與地面齊平的眼睛眺望，

is warm, is curious, hungry,

溫暖，好奇，飢腸轆轆，

its heart beats faster or slower

心跳快慢

with its own rabbit fate.

取決於個別兔子的命運。

A rabbit’s soul cannot help

兔子的心靈別無旁顧

but choose its own ears, its own paws,

只會遵從自己的耳朵，自己的爪子，

its own startlement, sleepiness, longings,

自己的驚愕，睏意，渴望，

it has a rabbit allegiance,

牠擁有一隻兔子的忠誠，

and the pink nose, which

和粉紅的鼻頭——

could have been drawn in charcoal

本可能被丟勒的妹妹

by Dürer’s sister, but wasn’t,

用炭筆描繪，但那並未發生，

takes in its own warmth and fur-scent,

牠吸入自己的體溫和毛皮氣味，

glints pinkly,

粉紅地閃爍，

pinkly alters the distant star’s light

粉紅地，改變著遠處的星光

in its own cuniculan corner

在遼闊、緘默的世界上

among vast and unanswerable worlds,

安於兔子的一隅，

without even knowing it does so.

對此渾然不覺。