埃德蒙頓/斯苔特勒/埃德蒙頓

想象—
度過情人節
從鄉村拿來牛的肋肉：
那就是我們駛離時我們的兒子叫喊的。
我想，浪漫就是你尋找的地方。
正值屠戶的男孩從冷庫推來了
裝滿堅硬包裹的手推車，
我看着牆上的那張紙，
一個屠宰場的營業執照。
當我第一次在書中看到“屠宰場”
我認為這是世界上最美麗的
詞兒。浪漫就是你如何聽到它。
一次我曾確信鹿肉
肯定是世上最好吃的肉，
只從聽到的那詞兒推斷。這意味着
同少女瑪利亞在舍伍德森林中打獵
而後是宴會和音樂。
你和我能用漢堡包辦一個宴會。
浪漫就是你如何品嘗它。
我們在白鵝飯店
與你的親戚共進午餐，
那裡情人節意味着牆上貼的紙心，
每張桌上一朵玫瑰。你兄弟，
舉起那冷凍生物，
蒙我，說如果是情人節我們男人
最好食用牡蠣。我吃了，而去城市的
路上我一直想着玫瑰：
那古董店名叫白玫瑰
使我想起老字號，
五朵玫瑰麵粉和四朵玫瑰威士忌，
這酵母的小小奇蹟，
浪漫就是你如何看見它。
剛好進城之前，我們駛過
幸運馬蹄鐵農場，
一個最吉利的名字，
而我的心在由牡蠣導致的
神志昏迷中賽跑，
或許丘比特用個箭頭輕推我的肋骨。
浪漫就是你如何感覺它。

The Feast Of St. Valentine
Edmonton/Stettler/Edmonton
Imagine-
spending Valentine's Day
fetching a side of beef from the country:
that's what our son called out as we drove away.
Romance is where you find it, I thought.
While the butcher's boy fetched the hand truck
full of rock-hard packages from the freezer,
I looked over the paper on the wall,
the Licence to Operate an Abattoir.
When I first saw abattoir in a book
I thought it was the most beautiful word
in the world. Romance is how you hear it.
Once I was sure that venison
must be the best meat in the world,
just from the sound of it. It meant
hunting in Sherwood Forest with Maid Marian
and the feasting and music afterward.
You and I can make a feast with hamburger.
Romance is how you taste it.
We had lunch with your relatives
in the White Goose Restaurant,
where Valentine's meant paper hearts on the walls,
a rose on each table. Your brother,
who raised that frozen critter,
kidded me, saying we men had better have oysters
if it's Valentine's day. I did, and all the way
to the city I thought of roses:
the antique shop called The White Rose
made me remember the old brands,
Five Roses Flour and Four Roses Whisky,
the little miracles of yeast.
Romance is where you see it.
Just before the city, we drove by
The Lucky Horseshoe Ranch,
a most auspicious name,
and my heart raced in a delirium
brought on by the oysters,
or Cupid nudging me in the ribs with an arrow.
Romance is how you feel it.

---By Bert Almon