Linda Pastan : Autumn

Romona Youngquist 畫作

I want to mention
summer ending       
without meaning the death

of somebody loved

or even the death

of the trees.

我想提及
夏日的將盡，

但不想涉及死亡，      
摯愛親友的死亡，           
甚至                     
樹的死亡。

Today in the market
I heard a mother say 
Look at the pumpkins, 
it's finally autumn!   

今天，我在市場            
聽見一位母親說：      
你看，南瓜，               
秋天終於到了！

And the child didn't think
of the death of her mother
which is due before her own
but tasted the sound
of the words on her clumsy tongue:
pumpkin; autumn.      

那孩子並不會聯想到    
母親的死亡，
但那註定會來，比她的更早。

孩子只是品嚐著

她笨拙的舌頭發出的聲響：
秋天、南瓜。



Let the eye enlarge 
with all it beholds.   

讓目光隨著眼見的一切

變得寬廣吧。

I want to celebrate  
color, how one red leaf
flickers like a match  
held to a dry branch,   
and the whole world goes up
in orange and gold.  

我要歡慶顏色，

凝望一片紅葉
如一根火柴

閃爍著舉向枯枝。      
而後，全世界燃昇而起，                
於橙橘與金黃。

(Mary May 譯）