第一次在你身边刷牙

当我说“第一次”，那就意味着
还会有第二次、第四次、第九十九次。
从远处看,我们的牙齿
像是滴答糖、芝兰口香糖，遥远行星的卫星。
夜行动物在夜晚嗅觉更灵敏,
因为气息在宁静的空气中
会更持久，所以我嗅到了
我们口腔中薄荷的味道，还有
你落在衬衫上的莎莎酱中的胡椒，
我们一小时前走过的人行道油腻的气味，
旅馆里起过泡沫躺在湿碟子里面的肥皂。
当我穿过灌木丛或者干柴堆时，我的皮毛会放射
电光条纹，尾巴激烈摆动。我嘴里
充满白沫。我戴着强盗面具。
原来我爱着黑暗。
我的小爪子想要抓住每个东西
清洗它。

作者 / [美国]艾米·內祖库玛塔希尔
翻译 / 光诸

First Time Brushing Teeth Next to You

When I say first time, that implies
there will be a second, a fourth, a ninety-ninth.
From far away our teeth must look like Tic Tacs,
Chiclets, moons of a faraway planet. Nocturnal
animals can smell better at night because scent
lingers when the air is still, and so I smell the mint
of our mouths but also the spill of peppers
from the salsa dropped on your shirt. The greasy
sidewalks we walked an hour earlier. Hotel soap
freshly bubbled and wet in the dish. When I root through
the thicket or the brush pile, my fur turns electric striped
and tail-tumbled. I foam at the mouth. The mask
on my face means bandit. Turns out I love the dark.
My little paws want to grab everything and wash it.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil