Tom Chandler is the Poet Laureate Emeritus of Rhode Island. He is the author of five books of poems, including the latest Toy Firing Squad (2008). He is a professor of creative writing at Bryant University.

汤姆-羌德勒曾是美国罗得岛州的桂冠诗人。他出过五本诗集，现为布来恩大学创作班教授。

黄华（1974-），任教于首都师范大学文学院，博士，副教授。从事中国现当代文学研究和中国现当代诗歌翻译。2003年毕业于中国人民大学中文系，现为美国匹兹堡大学访问学者。

Huang Hua （1974-） is an associate professor of Capital Normal University. She got her PhD. from Renmin University in 2003. She is a visiting scholar in the University of Pittsburgh and engaging in research of modern Chinese literature and translation of modern Chinese poetry.

After Music

音乐结束之后

There is a hole made of silence,
a breathy hush, vacant space 
outside time to honor the perfected 
sadness of each listener in an audience 
of strangers.

After beautiful music someone’s
gods die and certain birds turn to stone,
the air scents sweetly of fruit and it is as if 
lost babies wait to be born again and everything 
makes no sense at all, but reasonably, because 
all hearts are overflowed now, and still.
			

有一个沉默构筑的洞穴，
一个寂静得只有呼吸声，空旷的空间
在时间之外致敬完美的
悲伤，来自陌生听众中
每一位聆听者

在美妙的音乐结束后
众神死去，某种鸟变成了石头，
空气中弥漫着水果的芳香，好像
夭折的婴儿在等待重生，一切
感觉都消失了，但很合理，因为
所有的心现在都被淹没，而且静止不动。
			

Looking Out A Bedroom Window Late At Night

深夜从卧室的窗户望出去

Pretty certain nothing’s looking back,
only me reflected in the glass till I switch off 
the light, drink in the late darkness.

Just now a bird called from somewhere in its sleep.
It wasn’t a wakeful sound and all those drapes 
pulled shut and curtains down in each direction

as if the buzzing hive of everything 
had died, as if nothing had ever occurred
and that single streetlight was shining for no reason.
			

我很确定没有什么在回望，
只有我在玻璃上的反射，直到我关掉
灯，在深夜的黑暗中啜饮。

刚才有一只鸟在睡梦中从某个地方鸣叫。
这不是一种清醒的声音，那些帷幔
被合拢，窗帘从各处落下

就像万物组成的嗡嗡作响的蜂巢
消失了，好像什么都未曾发生过
那盏孤零零的街灯无端地闪烁着。