长冬过后After A Long Winter

长冬过后After A Long Winter 

(by Eileen O'Hara)

Up earlier than usual. The air is calling.

Spring air is different from winter air.

春天来得比往年要早些。空气在呼唤着什么。

春天的空气不同于冬天的空气。

Tree branches are serrated with red bud teeth.

Later, they grow chartreuse fuzz, making pale green auras in the sun.

树枝装点上了红色花芽而成了锯齿状。

然后，它们长出了黄绿色绒毛，在阳光中产生了淡淡的清新的气息。

Summer leaves will be dark, shading, but spring leaves let the light through.

Spring trees glow in the daytime, spreading translucent canopies.

夏天的树叶将会是暗的，颜色较深，但春天的树叶是能让阳光通过的。春天的树在白天发出柔和稳定的光，像一些铺开的半透明的华盖。

The birds are out, racketing their news from bush to branch. Cats are still curled up on fire escapes. They are in no hurry to get up in the cool morning air and they know it will warm up later. They are watching the birds. They can wait.

鸟儿飞出，发出很大声响时，把它们的消息从灌木丛带向树枝。猫儿仍然躺在太平梯那儿。它们不急于在早晨微凉的空气中起床，它们知道一会儿就会暖和起来的。它们在观察鸟。它们能够等待。

The air is clear, clean cool. The smells are tiny smells, little whiffs of green, a ribbon of brown mud, the blue smell of the sky.

空气清新，干净，且凉爽。气味是一些淡淡的气味，有一小阵青草的，一丝棕色泥土的，还有天空的蓝色的味道。

Midday is mild enough for short sleeves. I eat my lunch outside, sitting on a warm brick wall. The breeze lifts my hair and riffles the edge of my skirt. I have to squint. Everything tastes better.

中午暖和得可以穿短袖衣服了。我坐在一堵暖和的砖墙上，在外面吃了我的午饭。风吹起了我的头发并快速翻动着我的裙脚。我得眯着眼睛看东西。每一个东西尝起来都更好了。

Until today I had been too huddled in my winter coat to notice the quiet coming of flowers. Suddenly, daffodils smile in my face, parrot tulips wave their beaky petals, and fragrant white blossoms are pinned to dogwood trees like bows in a young girl’s hair.

直到今天，我一直深深缩在我的冬大衣里，竟没有注意到着花儿的悄然到来。突然间，水仙花对着我微笑，鹦鹉郁金香摆动着它们鸟嘴状的花瓣，芳香的白色花朵就像一个年轻姑娘头上的蝴蝶结那样被别在山茱萸树上。

The evening is soft. I need my thin jacket. It’s still light out when I walk home from the Metro. I could walk for hours. Like a kid playing street games with her friends, I don’t want to go in.

夜是温柔的。我需要我那件薄夹克。当我从地铁站走回家时，外面依然是明亮的。我能够连续走几个小时。像一个和朋友在街上玩游戏的孩子一样，我不想回家。

When I went to work this morning, I left my windows open. Spring came in through the screens while I was gone. It’s as if I had used a big silver key and rolled back the roof like a lid on a sardine can.

当我今天早上去工作时，我让窗子开着。我走后，春天通过这个窗口进来了。

看起来彷佛我用了一个巨大的起子，把屋顶像一个沙丁鱼罐头的盖子那样撬弯。

The indoors smell like the outdoors. It will be like lying down in the grass to sleep. The sheets are cool. The quilt is warm. The light fades outside my windows. This weekend, I think I’ll wash my car.

屋里的气味就像屋外的一样。睡觉将会像躺在草地上一样。床单很凉爽，被子很暖和。窗外的光渐渐暗了下去。这个星期，我想我该把我的车洗一洗。