无名之路

——献给娜塔莉

如此像亮片
河水上闪烁的阳光
这一切就像那个吻——

记得吗？
七月四日，月亮很早落下
空气流动

就好像它在思考
就像它开始
理解

在这个世界上
感到轻松自在
是多么困难，

但是在那个夜晚
她找到了那个地方
就在他的肩膀上

并且把她的嘴唇
压在上面。轻柔的雨

已经叫停了烟花：
天空宁静，但是
在地球上

两个男孩骑着自行车
喊出刚学的脏话。你转过头
凑近她的嘴，

最终，嘴唇相碰 经过
几周的漫步，谈论

之前的爱情
如何走向终结——

灵魂如何
跌落

然后再一次重新
独自站起

发现城市陌生
街道无名。

每次你遇到什么人
很难不去琢磨

他们曾经是什么人——一个故事
破碎得如此彻底

然后又一个故事：记忆镌刻下
它的犹豫——

但在那一夜
你发现自己
毫无畏惧。你记得吗

风儿告诉树木
关于她棕色的头发？——
凉爽的黑暗如何转身：

那第一个吻，
绵长如河流。

难道这不是在说你已经爱着她吗？

在人行道外：一个小池塘，
高高的芦苇，还有那些昏昏欲睡的锦鲤

把水面染上颜色。

作者 / [美国]蒂姆·塞布尔斯
翻译 / 光诸

Unmarked

for Natalie

So much like sequins
the sunlight on this river.
Something like that kiss—
remember?
Fourth of July, with the moon
down early the air moved
as if it were thinking,
as if it had begun
to understand
how hard it is
to feel at home
in the world,
but that night
she found a place
just above your shoulder
and pressed her lips
there. Soft rain
had called off the fireworks:
the sky was quiet, but
back on Earth
two boys cruised by on bikes
trying out bad words. You turned
to reach her mouth,
at last, with yours after weeks
of long walks, talking
about former loves
gone awry—
how the soul finally
falls down
and gets up alone
once more
finding the city strange,
the streets unmarked.

Every time you meet someone
it’s hard not to wonder
who they’ve been—one story
breaking so much
into the next: memory
engraves its hesitations—
but that night
you found yourself
unafraid. Do you remember
what the wind told the trees
about her brown hair?—
how the cool dark turned around:
that first kiss,
long as a river.
Didn’t it seem like you already loved her?
Off the sidewalk: a small pond,
the tall cattails, all those sleepy koi
coloring the water.

Tim Seibles