当我还是个小男孩时，我曾注意到一些奇异的东西

I’m noticing once again the singular things

现在我又注意到它们：隐蔽的弹簧，

I noticed as a boy: the hidden springs,

寂静的声响，桌布的短绒毛，

the sound of silence, nap of tablecloths,

碘的海水味，衣服的气息，

sea taste of iodine, the scents of clothes,

木头的自然纹理，涨潮与退潮

raw grain of wood, a scrambling interface

你追我赶形成的交互面。

of ebbing tide and incoming tide race.

光，炽烈闪耀于家具和厨房的金属器皿上，

Light, hot on the “fanatical existence”

幻觉般的“狂热存在”，

of furniture and the brightwork of kitchens,

闪耀于乡下车库、奔跑的母鸡和割下的干草上，

on country garage, hen run and mown hay,

一切一切熠熠生辉，即使在雨水最多的日子，

shines everything, even on the rainiest day,

也有从一个故意的世界反射或内在发出的微光

with the reflected or intrinsic glow

我们以为我们了解这世界——

of an intentional world we think we know—

物质世界潜藏不发的力量。

the inert, potential force of things material.

我们的知识是工具性的，我们的事实并不真实

Our knowledge instrumental, our facts unreal

因为未曾经历，也未曾感受，我们以何

because unlived, unfelt, what can we use

为智慧，除了这些凶残的现实？

for wisdom but these fierce realities?

我们不需用望远镜才能欣赏

We don’t need telescopes to appreciate

夜空静谧的音乐；

the silent music of the sky at night;

也不需用电脑才能思索

nor do we need computers to contemplate

雨燕迁徙的形态共振，

that morphic resonance where swifts migrate

它们从河口出发，排成紧密阵型，

in close formation from a river mouth

本能地知道何时向南，

knowing by instinct when to travel south,

也本能地知道如何原路返回，

also by instinct to retrace their flight

就在山楂树叶茂花繁的时节。

when hawthorn is in leaf, its flowers alight.