We were dancing—it must have

我們在跳舞——想必是

been a foxtrot or a waltz,

一種狐步或華爾茲，

something romantic but

浪漫但

requiring restraint,

需要克制，

rise and fall, precise

舞步起伏，我們

execution as we moved

動作精確

into the next song without

進入下一支曲子

stopping, two chests heaving

沒有停頓，兩個胸膛呼應著

above a seven-league

腳下每一步

stride—such perfect agony

如七里格漫長——恰如其分的痛苦

one learns to smile through,

舞者必須微笑堅持，

ecstatic mimicry

狂熱的複制

being the

是美式流暢舞的

sine qua non

秘訣。

of American Smooth.

我集中精神

And because I was distracted

儘量

by the effort of

不犯規

keeping my frame

（重心向左，轉頭

(the leftward lean, head turned

讓目光恰好擦過

just enough to gaze out

你的耳畔並保持

past your ear and always

微笑，微笑），

smiling, smiling),

因而沒有察覺

I didn’t notice

你的身體愈發靜止

how still you’d become until

直到我們完成

we had done it

（兩小節？

(for two measures?

還是四小節？）——一次完美的飛行，

four?)—achieved flight,

靈巧而平靜的

that swift and serene

莊嚴，

magnificence,

直到大地

before the earth

想起我們

remembered who we were

把我們輕輕接住。

and brought us down.