連續幾日我思索這張時間表——
Days I’ve spent brooding over this timetable—
我從未去過的堪薩斯城裡
a schedule for birds I can’t identify
一些我認不出的鳥的日程。
in Kansas City, a place I’ve never been.
上面說，雪松太平鳥的出沒
According to it, a cedar waxwing’s routine
沒有規律，但有一隻灰貓嘲鶇比較準時：
is irregular, but a catbird can be clocked:
4:30出現，9:25離開（日期未註明）。
arrival 4:30, departure 9:25 (date unspecified).
鳥兒從哪裡來——飛向何地——
Where the birds come from—where the birds go—
變幻無常的風——風速——命運——牠們所需的
vagaries of wind—velocity—fate—how much
食物（睡眠）——時間表上
food (sleep) they need—are matters the timetable
概無記錄。連一些簡單的事實也沒有，
doesn’t address. Even what’s relatively simple,
譬如那些交互空中的飛行路線
like who choreographs the interplay
由誰人編舞，
of multiple flight paths across the sky,
或23種預計在5:01同時登陸的
or how twenty-three species all due to land
鳥群如何協調彼此的降落，
at 5:01 coordinate their simultaneous descents,
均超出了它的範疇。（無法回答的事情
is beyond its scope. (What can’t be answered
往往無人問津。）幾個觀測地點——
often goes untouched.) A few of the sightings—
北美紅雀，霸鶲，紅頭啄木鳥，
of cardinal, kingbird, red-headed woodpecker,
煙囪雨燕，北美金翅雀，西草地鷚——
chimney swift, goldfinch, meadowlark—
被人用鉛筆輕輕圈出。
are confirmed by someone’s light pencil mark.
六種編錄在冊的貓頭鷹中有五種——大雕鴞，
Five out of six catalogued owls—great horned,
長耳鴞，橫斑林鴞，西倉鴞，鳴角鴞——
long-eared, barred, barn, and screech—
是此地的留鳥。短耳鴞
are residents who never leave. The short-eared owl
在10:10（上午？下午？）出現，3:15離開。
arrives at 10:10 (am? pm?), departs at 3:15.
姬葦鳽，短嘴沼澤鷦鷯
The least bittern, the short-billed marsh wren
同時到來（4:10）並盤桓整個夏天，
arrive together (4:10) and stay the summer,
而鐵爪鵐和斑唧鵐
while the lapland longspur and arctic towhee
會在此越冬。一些鳥——琵嘴鴨，
winter over. Some birds—the shoveler,
藍翅鴨——被觀察到離開
the blue-winged teal—were seen leaving
但抵達時間不詳；
but no one knows what time they came;
其他的，比如白冠雞，按時報到
others, like the coot, duly checked in
（2:30）飛去無蹤。
(2:30) but managed to lift off undetected.
那麼你呢？你的到來，你的著冠，
And you? Will your arrival, your crowning,
是否被記載？一張鉛筆字箋，一條
be clocked? A penciled note, a bracelet
紅手繩纏在你羽翼未豐的手腕上？
of red thread twining your fledgling wrist?