Issue 6
Tracks
in Snow
Why did it stop and go back?
poems on our wild neighbours
by Thad Rutkowski
Geese and Foxes
The geese like to bask on the docks
and stroll around people’s yards,
which makes them easy targets.
But geese on the wing
or geese paddling on the water
are impossible to catch.
The foxes have to wait in driveways,
sharing the space with neighborhood people
until the geese come in.
Chinese translation:
鵝與狐狸
鵝喜歡在碼頭曬太陽
並在人們的院子裡漫步，
這使牠們很容易成為目標。
但是展翅高飛的鵝
或是在水面蹼遊的鵝
是捉不到的。
狐狸必須在車道上等待，
與社區的人共享空間，
直到鵝進來。
Sovereign of the Fish
There’s a nest on a phone pole
with two birds in it.
They must be adults, because they are tall
and their heads and necks are visible.
They built a nest here
because a platform was installed
for a large bird that needs a base
for a sizable nest of sticks.
We’re close enough to the bay
for this pair of sea birds to live here.
I think they are ospreys.
One takes off, and its pointed wings
extend in a six-foot span.
I’m sure it is an osprey,
and I expect it will spot fish underwater,
and dive, talons first, to make its catch,
then return to the nest,
repeatedly, throughout the day,
bringing food for its invisible young.
魚的君王
電線桿上有一個鳥巢
裡面有兩隻鳥。
牠們一定是成鳥，因為個子高，
且看得見頭和脖子。
牠們在這裡築巢
是因為有人安裝了一個平台，
大鳥以大枝條構築的大巢
需要底座。
我們離海灣夠近，
足以讓這對海鳥生活在這裡。
我認為牠們是魚鷹。
一隻起飛，牠尖尖的翅膀
展開六尺的跨度。
我確信這是一隻魚鷹，
我希望牠能在水下發現魚，
然後下潛，出爪，捕取獵物，
然後返回鳥巢，
一整天反覆地
為看不見的雛鳥帶來食物。
Tracks in Snow
These tracks in snow
mean an animal came toward the house,
stopped, and went back the way it came.
The prints seem to be those of a squirrel:
two small front paws,
followed by two large hind paws.
The placement suggests that the squirrel—
if it was a squirrel—was hopping,
not walking, not loping, not sprinting.
Why did it stop and go back?
Maybe the house had nothing for it,
no nuts or crunchy food of any sort.
Maybe the house door was a mystery.
Opening the knob with a paw wouldn’t be easy.
It would be safer to return to the tree
and climb the trunk with its claws.
雪中足跡
這些雪中的足跡
意味著有動物朝房子走來，
停下，又原路折返。
這些腳印似乎是松鼠的：
兩隻小前爪，
兩隻大後爪跟著。
這個布置顯示松鼠——
如果牠是一隻松鼠——正在跳躍，
不走路，不大步跳躍，不衝刺。
為什麼停下來又回去了？
也許房子裡沒有東西適合牠，
沒有堅果或任何鬆脆的食物。
也許房子的門是個謎。
用爪子打開球形把手不容易。
返回樹上
用爪子爬樹幹會更安全。
Thaddeus Rutkowski is the author of seven books, most recently Tricks of Light, a poetry collection. His novel Haywire won the members’ choice award from the Asian American Writers’ Workshop in New York. He teaches at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn and received a fiction writing fellowship from the NY Foundation for the Arts. He lives with his wife, Randi Hoffman, in Manhattan.