牡丹幼苗從泥土中拔起；

Peony shoots rise out of the earth;

在凌晨五點鐘，走上山脊，

at five a.m., walking up the ridge,

我觀察到，四月裏獵戶座的左臂

I mark how, in April, Orion’s left arm

位於天空的頂點，到了五月，

was an apex in the sky, and, by May,

唯有金星貼著黎明的黯藍天際

only Venus flickered above the ridge

於山稜線上閃爍。

against the blue edge of sunrise.

白天，梨樹的白花

In daylight, a pear tree explodes

爆炸——沒有黑足鼬

with white blossoms—no black-

從我面前的小徑上竄過，

footed ferret slips across my path,

沒有鬼鴞在樹枝間攪動。

no boreal owl stirs on a branch.

凌晨三點鐘，狗吠聲此起彼伏

At three a.m., dogs seethed and howled

當黑熊從一根枝上折下

when a black bear snagged a shriveled

枯萎的蘋果；此刻，我走出

apple off a branch; and, waking out

這一池黑暗，看到火

of a black pool, I glimpsed how

如何以上升的火積雲創造

fire creates its own weather

它獨有的季候。終於抵達

in rising pyrocumulus. Reaching

灌溉渠，我放下閘門：是時候

the ditch, I drop the gate: it’s time

讓山下的水管注滿，

for the downhill pipes to fill,

是時候讓屋外的竹林

time for bamboo at the house

豪飲，是時候看見陽光

to suck up water, time to see sunlight

透過葉簇的縫隙跳耀

flare between leaves before

趁那午後灼人的鋒芒還未降臨。

the scorching edge of afternoon.