一说到“死亡”，整个屋子都冻僵

Say “death” and the whole room freezes–

甚至沙发椅都停止移动

even the couches stop moving,

即使灯

even the lamps.

就像松鼠突然警觉被人盯

Like a squirrel suddenly aware it is being looked at.

继续提这个字

Say the word continuously,

而诸事仍在进行

and things begin to go forward.

你的生活承受

Your life takes on

一部旧胶片般急速的抽动

the jerky texture of an old film strip.

再说下去

Continue saying it, hold it moment after moment inside the mouth,

在口中不断欲言又止

it becomes another syllable.

变成另一种音节

A shopping mall swirls around the corpse of a beetle.

购物商场像甲虫尸体般打旋

Death is voracious, it swallows all the living.

死亡是贪馋的，吞噬一切生者

Life is voracious, it swallows all the dead.

生命是贪馋的，吞噬一切亡灵

neither is ever satisfied, neither is ever filled,

仍很不满意，也永不满足

each swallows and swallows the world.

每吞噬一次，世界便失去一次

The grip of life is as strong as the grip of death.

握住生命就像握住死亡一样强烈

(but the vanished, the vanished beloved, o where?)

（但那些消失的，消失掉的心爱的人，在哪里呢？）