葛綠柯植物誌 (10): Witchgrass

〈巫草〉*

有什麼
來到這世界不受歡迎
喊著失序，失序——

若你這麼恨我
不必特地給我
一個名字：難道需要
又一個辱罵之詞
在你的語言，多一種
方式把所有事
歸咎於一族——

你我都知道，
若你崇拜
一個神，就只需要
一個敵人——

我不是敵人。
只是個藉口讓你
忽視眼前正在
這片花圃發生的，
一個小小的
失敗範式。你的寶貝花朵
幾乎每天都在死去
而你無法罷休直到
你攻擊禍首，也就是
任何留下的，任何
湊巧堅韌耐活

勝過你偏愛之物——

那本就註定
無法在真實世界長久。
但何必承認這點，大可
照你慣常的
繼續哀悼與怪罪，
總是兩者並行。

我存活並不需要
你的讚美。我存在
早於你，早在
你種花蒔草之前。
而我會繼續在這裡直到只剩
日月，大海，和遼闊原野。

我就將是那原野。


Witchgrass

Something
comes into the world unwelcome
calling disorder, disorder--

If you hate me so much
don't bother to give me
a name: do you need
one more slur
in your language, another
way to blame
one tribe for everything--

as we both know,
if you worship
one god, you only need
One enemy--

I'm not the enemy.
Only a ruse to ignore
what you see happening
right here in this bed,
a little paradigm
of failure. One of your precious flowers
dies here almost every day
and you can't rest until
you attack the cause, meaning
whatever is left, whatever
happens to be sturdier
than your personal passion--

It was not meant
to last forever in the real world.
But why admit that, when you can go on
doing what you always do,
mourning and laying blame,
always the two together.

I don't need your praise
to survive. I was here first,
before you were here, before
you ever planted a garden.
And I'll be here when only the sun and moon
are left, and the sea, and the wide field.

I will constitute the field.



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* Witchgrass 學名 Panicum capillare，是一種原生於北美的禾本科植物，我查不到台灣的正式譯名，網路上有簡體中文資料稱它為「毛絨稷」或「毛狀稷」。此處選擇直譯為巫草，主要為傳達原詩中污名和雜草的意象。