Anniversary by Louise Glück (April 1966)

Well, November’s hit Paris again.

The Times records a mean temperature

Of thirty-eight. Bunched about the Madeleine,

Flower sellers ostrich the future

With their noses rigorously immersed

In stale roses. Or so I remember.

Incredibly, it was the twenty-first

Last week. And my affections turned out limber

After all: oh Stephen, we’d have been

Married now. I’ve still got our

China, some broken, and some linen

But the first I’ve really thought of you for

Months was just tonight when with my fork

Suspended I was saying how I loved New York.

意譯：

作者現在11月份的巴黎。報章報導攝氏38度，好像不大友善的天氣。聚集在巴黎的馬德琳一帶的賣花者，嚴謹地嗅著陳舊的玫瑰花，假裝這些玫瑰花沒有多大問題，不會影響日後的銷售。作者見到這一幕，想起了上星期應該是她和Stephen已在一起21周年。她的情感也變得柔軟。其實他們現在應該已經結婚了。作者仍然有一些屬於他們的瓷器，不過有些已經破爛了。但是，在這數月裏，第一次想起Stephen是今晚拿起叉子說著她有多喜愛紐約的時候。

讀後感：

作者與Stephen的戀人關係好像那陳舊的玫瑰花，他們假裝看不見關係中的問題，好像那破爛的瓷器一樣，都不知道怎樣補救。作者懷念著他們在紐約那些一起的日子。

2020諾貝爾文學獎得主Louise Glück的文字簡潔，意象新穎，用字精準，這是一首很美的詩歌。