They are walking in the woods along the coast

他倆走在海邊的樹林中

and in a grassy meadow, wasting, they come upon

和荒蕪的草地上，碰見

two old neglected apple trees. Moss thickened

兩棵蒼老得被遺忘的蘋果樹。

every bough and the wood of the limbs looked rotten

苔蘚增厚枝椏，樹幹看似腐爛

but the trees were wild with blossom and a green fire

卻繁花怒放，小小新葉的綠色火焰，

of small new leaves flickered even on the deadest branches.

閃爍在哪怕最無生機的枝條上。

Blue-eyes, poppies, a scattering of lupine

藍眼睛，罌粟花，散落的羽扇豆

flecked the meadow, and an intricate, leopard-spotted

遍布於草地，還有一種錯綜如豹紋的

leaf-green flower whose name they didn’t know.

綠葉花，他倆不知其名。

Trout lily, he said; she said, adder’s-tongue.

他說是狗牙紅蓮；她說是山慈菇。

She is shaken by the raw, white, backlit flaring

她顫慄於那蘋果花的原始、潔白，

of the apple blossoms. He is exultant,

逆光的火焰，他狂喜雀躍，

as if some thing he felt were verified,

彷彿他感覺到的東西被證實，

and looks to her to mirror his response.

並指望她有同樣的反應。

If it is afternoon, a thin moon of my own dismay

要是在午後，令我失望的一彎瘦月

fades like a scar in the sky to the east of them.

像一塊傷疤在天空逐漸消逝，朝著他倆的東邊。

He could be knocking wildly at a closed door

在夢中，他可能會瘋狂地敲擊著

in a dream. She thinks, meanwhile, that moss

一扇關閉的門。同時，她想，那苔蘚

resembles seaweed drying lightly on a dock.

似船塢上輕微晾乾的海藻。

Torn flesh, it was the repetitive torn flesh

撕裂肉體，冷白的花朵裏

of appetite in the cold white blossoms

反復撕裂的肉體之欲

that had startled her. Now they seem tender

令她震驚。此刻它們顯得溫柔，

and where she was repelled she takes the measure

在令她厭惡的地方，她打量樹

of the trees and lets them in. But he no longer

並讓它們進入內心。但他已不再

has the apple trees. This is as sad or happy

擁有蘋果樹了。如此悲傷或快樂，

as the tide, going out or coming in, at sunset.

正如潮水，在日落時潮漲潮落。

The light catching in the spray that spumes up

光芒被困於暗礁上噴起的水霧，

on the reef is the color of the lesser finch

跟他倆注意到的田野上空

they notice now flashing dull gold in the light

光芒中的小金翅雀一樣，閃爍著

above the field. They admire the bird together,

暗淡的金色。他們一同贊賞鳥兒，

it draws them closer, and they start to walk again.

這使他倆靠近，他倆又開始步行。

A small boy wanders corridors of a hotel that way.

一個小男孩遊蕩在旅館走廊。

Behind one door, a maid. Behind another one, a man

一道門後，一位女僕。另一道門後，

in striped pajamas shaving. He holds the number

穿條紋睡衣的一個男子刮著臉。

of his room close to the center of his mind

他在頭腦裏嚴肅而細致地

gravely and delicately, as if it were the key,

記住他的房號，就像它是鑰匙，

and then he wanders among strangers all he wants.

然後在陌生人中隨心所欲地漫遊。