I hear on the radio that Anastasio Somoza

我從廣播上聽到安納斯塔西奧·蘇慕薩

has fled Managua, is already in Florida,

已經逃離尼加拉瓜，抵達弗羅里達，

and about to disappear on a world cruise.

此後將繼續他的巡迴流亡之旅。

Investigators in this country are meanwhile

而這個國家的研究員與此同時

analyzing the volcanic eruptions on Io,

在潛心分析木衛一的火山活動，

or are studying the erratic respiratory

或鑽研海馬不規則的

pattern of a sea horse to find the origin

呼吸特徵，試圖從中發現生命

of life. The fact is, we know so little,

的起源。事實上，我們所知甚少，

but are so quick to interpret, to fit facts

但總是迫不及待去破譯，讓事實

to our schemata. For instance, the final

符合我們的設想。比如，蘇慕薩家族

collapse of the Nicaraguan dictatorship

獨裁統治最後的陷落

makes me wonder if the process of change

讓我不禁思考事物的發展

is a dialectic. Or is our belief in a

是否是辯證的。抑或我們相信

pattern what sustains it? Is the recent

某種模式在背後支撐？近年的歷史

history a clear pattern: a dictatorship

還不夠明確嗎：獨裁政權

followed by a popular revolt, followed by

被一場熱烈的革命推翻，繼之以

a renewed dictatorship exercising greater

復興的獨裁和變本加厲的

repression, ended by a violent revolution?

壓迫，再由另一場暴動終結？

I want to speak of opposites that depend

我想談談那些彼此依賴

on and define each other: as in a

又彼此定義的對立物：比方說一次

conversation, you feel silence in speech,

交談，你能感受到對話中的靜默

or speech in silence. Or, as in a

或靜默中的敘說。又好比

counterpoint when two melodies overlap and

對位法，當兩條旋律線交疊

resonate, you feel the sea in the desert,

共鳴，你能感受到沙漠中藏有大海，

or feel that the body and mind are

或身與心無法

inseparable. Then you wonder if day and

分割。然後你開始懷疑日與夜

night are indeed opposites. You knock the

是否真的對立。你向一個

gyroscope off the axis of its spinning,

旋轉中的陀螺儀施力，

so that one orientation in the world vanishes,

世界的方向不再唯一，

and the others appear infinite.

而變為無窮。