我從廣播上聽到安納斯塔西奧·蘇慕薩

I hear on the radio that Anastasio Somoza

已經逃離尼加拉瓜，抵達弗羅里達，

has fled Managua, is already in Florida,

此後將繼續他的巡迴流亡之旅。

and about to disappear on a world cruise.

而這個國家的研究員與此同時

Investigators in this country are meanwhile

在潛心分析木衛一的火山活動，

analyzing the volcanic eruptions on Io,

或鑽研海馬不規則的

or are studying the erratic respiratory

呼吸特徵，試圖從中發現生命

pattern of a sea horse to find the origin

的起源。事實上，我們所知甚少，

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

但總是迫不及待去破譯，讓事實

but are so quick to interpret, to fit facts

符合我們的設想。比如，蘇慕薩家族

to our schemata. For instance, the final

獨裁統治最後的陷落

collapse of the Nicaraguan dictatorship

讓我不禁思考事物的發展

makes me wonder if the process of change

是否是辯證的。抑或我們相信

is a dialectic. Or is our belief in a

某種模式在背後支撐？近年的歷史

pattern what sustains it? Is the recent

還不夠明確嗎：獨裁政權

history a clear pattern: a dictatorship

被一場熱烈的革命推翻，繼之以

followed by a popular revolt, followed by

復興的獨裁和變本加厲的

a renewed dictatorship exercising greater

壓迫，再由另一場暴動終結？

repression, ended by a violent revolution?

我想談談那些彼此依賴

I want to speak of opposites that depend

又彼此定義的對立物：比方說一次

on and define each other: as in a

交談，你能感受到對話中的靜默

conversation, you feel silence in speech,

或靜默中的敘說。又好比

or speech in silence. Or, as in a

對位法，當兩條旋律線交疊

counterpoint when two melodies overlap and

共鳴，你能感受到沙漠中藏有大海，

resonate, you feel the sea in the desert,

或身與心無法

or feel that the body and mind are

分割。然後你開始懷疑日與夜

inseparable. Then you wonder if day and

是否真的對立。你向一個

night are indeed opposites. You knock the

旋轉中的陀螺儀施力，

gyroscope off the axis of its spinning,

世界的方向不再唯一，

so that one orientation in the world vanishes,

而變為無窮。

and the others appear infinite.