你不美，准确地说。

You are not beautiful, exactly.

你美，不准确地说。

You are beautiful, inexactly.

你让一株杂草长在桑树旁，

You let a weed grow by the mulberry

一棵桑树长在房子边。

And a mulberry grow by the house.

那么近，在一个有风之夜的

So close, in the personal quiet

私人寂静中，它刷着屋墙，

Of a windy night, it brushes the wall

扫除白昼，直到我们入睡。

And sweeps away the day till we sleep.

一个孩子说的，似乎很对：

A child said it, and it seemed true:

“失去的东西一律平等。”

"Things that are lost are all equal."

可是并不对。假如我失去你，

But it isn't true. If I lost you,

空气就不会动，树也不会长。

The air wouldn't move, nor the tree grow.

有人会拔那杂草，我的花儿。

Someone would pull the weed, my flower.

那寂静将不属于你。假如我失去你，

The quiet wouldn't be yours. If I lost you,

我就得恳求那草让我入睡。

I'd have to ask the grass to let me sleep.