Their nine-day-long honeymoon
was on the isle of Capri.
他們九天的蜜月
是在 Capri 的島上。
For their supper they had one specatular dish-
a simmering stew of mollusks and fish.
And while he savored the broth,
her bride's heart made a wish.
That wish came true-she gave birth to a baby.
But was this little one human
Well, maybe.
他們的晚餐有一個 盤子
裡面有軟體動物和魚的慢墩燉湯。
而且當他品嚐了肉湯的時候，
他的新娘蘊育了一個小希望。
那個希望便是她生下一個嬰兒。
但是這個幼小的人類...
嗯,也許是吧...
Ten fingers, ten toes,
he had plumbing and sight.
He could hear, he could feel,
but normal?
Not quite.
This unnatural birth, this canker, this blight,
was the start and the end and the sum of their plight.
十根手指，十個足趾，
他擁有書寫和視力。
他可以聽，他可以感覺，
但外表？
並不正常。
這是個不自然的誕生，這是個潰瘍，一種枯萎病，
打從開始到結束
以及他們的所有
She railed at the doctor:
"He cannot be mine.
He smells of the ocean, of seaweed and brine."
她在醫生的橫木圍欄旁說：
”他不能夠是我的。
他聞像大海，海草和鹽水。”
"You should count yourself lucky, for only last week,
I treated a girl with three ears and a beak.
That your son is half oyster
you cannot blame me.
... have you ever considered, by chance,
a small home by the sea?"
”你應該認為自己是幸運的了，對於上星期，
我遇見了一位只有三隻耳朵和一個鳥嘴的女孩。
你的兒子只是一半的牡蠣!
你不能夠怪我。
...你是否考慮過
在海洋建一個家？”
Not knowing what to name him,
they just called him Sam,
or sometimes,
"that thing that looks like a clam"
學名上不知該稱他什麼，
他們只是稱他為山姆，
又或者有時稱他
" 看起來像是個蛤一樣的東西 "
Everyone wondered, but no one could tell,
When would young Oyster Boy come out of his shell?
每個人都想知道，但也沒有人可以告訴他們，
幼小的牡蠣男孩何時將會從他的貝殼出來？color]
When the Thompson quadruplets espied him one day,
they called him a bivalve and ran quickly away.
當湯普生四胞胎看見他的那一天，
他們很快地認定他是一個殼貝並且跑開。
One spring afternoon,
Sam was left in the rain.
At the southwestern corner of Seaview and Main,
he watched the rain water as it swirled
down the drain.
His mom on the freeway
in the breakdown lane
was pouding the dashboard-
she couldn't contain
the ever-rising grief,
frustration,
and pain.
他那在高速公路上的母親
在顛波小路中
她無法包容它
那曾經是一個傷痛，挫折
而且痛苦。
"Really, sweetheart," she said
"I don't mean to make fun,
but something smells fishy
and I think it's our son.
I don't like to say this, but it must be said,
you're blaming our son for your problems in bed."
He tried salves, he tried ointments
that turned everything red.
He tried potions and lotions
and tincture of lead.
He ached and he itched and he twitched and he bled.
The doctor diagnosed,
"I can't quite be sure,
but the cause of the problem may also be the cure.
They say oysters improve your sexual powers.
Perhaps eating your son
would help you do it for hours!"
He came on tiptoe,
he came on the sly,
sweat on his forehead,
and on his lips-a lie.
"Son, are you happy? I don't mean to pry,
but do you dream of Heaven?
Have you ever wanted to die?
Sam blinked his eye twice.
but made no reply.
Dad fingered his knife and loosened his tie.
山姆眨了眨他的眼睛兩次。
但並沒有作答覆。
父親手滑過了他的刀並且鬆了鬆他的領帶。
As he picked up his son,
Sam dripped on his coat.
With the shell to his lips,
Sam slipped down his throat.
他托起了他的兒子，
山姆滴落在他的外套上。
貝殼在他的嘴裡，
山姆滑下到他的咽喉。
They burried him quickly in the sand by the sea
-sighed a prayer, wept a tear-
and they were back home by three.
他們很快地埋了他,就在海邊的沙攤上
－面歎息一面祈禱，哭泣及滴淚
而且他們打算將在三天後回家。
A cross of greay driftwood marked Oyster Boy's grave.
Words writ in the sand
promised Jesus would save.
流木的十字架標示了牡蠣男孩的墓穴。
沙子上的字跡
諭示了耶穌將使他永存。
But his memory was lost with one high-tide wave.
但是他的記憶將與一濤波浪一起被洗去。
