When the world came down upon me

有一天世界倒坍在我身上

and the sky closed like a door,

天空之门关闭，

sounds filled my ears from far away.

遥远的声音充塞我的双耳。

I lay down on the floor.

我躺在地上。

And no one near could find me,

近在咫尺的人看不见我，

and nothing near was mine.

近在咫尺的事物不属于我。

I sank into the floorboards

我陷入地面

from the voices,

远离喧嚣，

soft and kind.

陷入安适之乡。

Until one thought got through to me,

不知过了多久，我忽然有了一个念头，

one image filled my mind:

我的头脑中出现一幅画面：

a pencil and a paper lying

一支铅笔，一张纸

close to hand, nearby.

就在我手边。

Somehow I took them up and traced

恍惚间我拿起纸笔涂下一个词

one word and then the next,

接着又写了一个，

until they linked together in a chain

一个一个词连成一条链

that first perplexed the darkness

搅乱我眼中的黑暗，

in my eyes, then,

随后

rowing on my paper barque,

我划着我的纸船

I soon was far away

很快就划了好远

and saw the water trail I'd left

回望我留下的波痕

rise up into a chain—

它腾空升起，成为一条链——

a ladder reaching high above

一条通往高处的梯子

to light and sound and friends.

通向光明，音声，和朋友。

And that's how I climbed out

就这样，我从无边无际的悲伤之中

of the grief that has no end.

爬了出来。