Billy Collins

There is the sudden silence of the crowd，

有一種寂靜突然出現(xiàn)在人群中，

above a player not moving on the field，

當運動員在賽場上蓄勢待發(fā)的瞬間，

and the silence of the orchid.

仿佛蘭花開放時的無聲無息。

The silence of the falling vase，

有一種寂靜來自跌落的花瓶，

before it strikes the floor，

在它撞擊地面的剎那，

the silence of the belt when it is not striking the child.

如同皮帶抽打孩子前的時空凝固。

The stillness of the cup and the water in it，

杯子和杯中的水都是靜默的，

the silence of the moon，

月亮也是靜默的，

and the quiet of the day far from the roar of the sun.

還有斜陽西下時黃昏的靜謐。

The silence when I hold you to my chest，

我靜靜地擁你入懷，

the silence of the window above us，

頭頂?shù)拇皯綮o靜地看著我們，

and the silence when you rise and turn away.

你無聲地站起來，轉(zhuǎn)身離去。

And there is the silence of this morning，

今天早晨本是寂靜的，

which I have broken with my pen，

我卻用筆把它打破了，

a silence that had piled up all night.

那是積壓了整整一夜的寂靜。

like snow falling in the darkness of the house—

我落筆之前的寂靜，

the silence before I wrote a word，

像雪花悄然飄落進黑暗的屋子，

and the poorer silence now.

而現(xiàn)在是更加難挨的寂靜。

（搖曳生香摘自《譯林》2013年3期）