To such a request, the world is obliging.

对这样的要求，全世界都有义务。

In just the past week, a rotund porcupine,

在刚过去的这周，一只圆滚滚的豪猪

who seemed equally startled by me.

似乎同我一样被吓了一跳。

The man who swallowed a tiny microphone

那位吞下一只微型麦克风

to record the sounds of his body,

要记录他身体的声音，

not considering beforehand how he might remove it.

事先没考虑到要如何把它取走。

A cabbage and mustard sandwich on marbled bread.

大理石面包上摞一个包菜芥末三明治。

How easily the large spiders were caught with a clear plastic cup

用透明的大塑料杯捉住大蜘蛛

surprised even them.

甚至很容易让它们也吃惊。

I don’t know why I was surprised everytime love started or ended.

我不明白为什么每次爱情开始或结束都令我吃惊。

Or why each time a new fossil, Earth-like planet, or war.

每出现新的化石、地球似的行星或战争也会如此。

Or that no one kept being there when the doorknob had clearly.

或者，明明门把手守在那儿却没有人守着。

What should not have been so surprising:

不应该那么令人吃惊的是：

my error after error, recognized when appearing on the faces of others.

我一个又一个错误，一出现在他人脸上时就被看出来。

What did not surprise enough:

不足以令人吃惊的是：

my daily expectation that anything would continue,

我每天都期待一切都会持续下去，

and then that so much did continue, when so much did not.

而有那么多事情确实持续，同时又有那么多事并不持续。

Small rivulets still flowing downhill when it wasn’t raining.

雨已经停了，而小溪仍然涓涓地流下山来。

A sister’s birthday.

一个姐妹的生日。

Also, the stubborn, courteous persistence.

还有，固执而彬彬有礼的坚持。

That even today please means please,

即使到了今天，“请”还意味着“请”，

good morning is still understood as good morning,

“早安”也仍然被理解为“早安”，

and that when I wake up,

还有在我醒来时，

the window’s distant mountain remains a mountain,

窗外的远山仍然是山，

the borrowed city around me is still a city, and standing.

我借居的城市仍是一座城市，巍然而立。

Its alleys and markets, offices of dentists,

它的街巷与市场，牙医的办公室，

drug store, liquor store, Chevron.

药妆店，酒水店，雪佛龙公司。

Its library that charges—a happy surprise—no fine for overdue books:

它的图书馆，收费——令人又惊又喜——但过期没有罚款：

Borges, Baldwin, Szymborska, Morrison, Cavafy.

博尔赫斯，鲍德温，辛波斯卡，莫里森，卡瓦菲。