Invention

Billy Collins

Tonight the moon is a cracker,

with a bite out of it

floating in the night,

and in a week or so

according to the calendar

it will probably look

like a silver football,

and nine,maybe ten days ago

it reminded me of a thin bright claw.

But eventually—

by the end of the month,

I reckon—

it will waste away

to nothing,

nothing but stars in the sky,

and I will have a few nights

to myself,

a little time to rest my jittery pen.

今晚的月亮是塊

被咬掉一口的薄脆餅干

飄飄蕩蕩浮在夜天，

按照日歷

約莫一周時間

它看似大概會

像個銀色的橄欖球，

而九天,或許十天之前

它使我想起一個薄明的蟹鉗。

可漸漸地——

到這個月底

我推斷——

它將消瘦至

身影全無，

天上只留繁星點點，

而對我自己來說，

會有幾個夜晚

讓我極度緊張的筆得以休息。