They are rattling breakfast plates in basement kitchens

地下室厨房里，她们把早餐盘子洗得乒乓响；

And along the trampled edges of the street

沿着众人践踏的街道边沿，

I am aware of the damp souls of house maids

我感到女仆们潮湿的灵魂

Sprouting despondently at area gates.

在地下室前的大门口沮丧地发芽。

The brown waves of fog toss up to me

一阵阵棕色波浪般的雾从街的尽头

Twisted faces from the bottom of the street,

向我抛上一张张扭曲的脸,

And tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts

又从一位穿着泥污的裙子的行人的脸上

An aimless smile that hovers in the air

撕下一个空洞的微笑，微笑逗留在半空，

And vanishes along the level of the roofs.

又沿着屋顶一线消失了。