《燕尾蝶》 by 圖希

燕尾蝶  布蕾娜·圖希 林木譯

 

醫療史表格上寫著：“是否有人在身體上、性方麵，或情感上虐待過你？”

有一個“是”的方框，也有一個“否”的方框。

 

我基本沒事。

我基本沒事，不過——

 

感恩節那天他媽媽告訴我一個故事：說他小時候在院子裏發現了一隻蝴蝶，一個翅膀斷了一半。他雙手捧著它，帶回屋裏，將它護在肚前，生怕它飛走。他們用家裏的電話撥通了動物醫院，醫院告訴他們要小心地剪去那隻完好翅膀的一半，讓它與斷的那一半對稱。

 

溫柔的手做成的籠子依然是籠子，

    而我現在明白了這一點。

 

如果他要求我我會自己爬進瓶子。

    我會親手撕下自己的另一個翅膀。

 

Swallowtail - Brenna Twohy

 

The medical history form reads, “Has someone physically, sexually, or emotionally abused you?” with a box for yes and a box for no.

 

I am mostly fine

 

I am mostly fine but

 

One Thanksgiving his mom told me this story about how as a child he found a butterfly in the yard with half a wing missing. He cupped it in his hands, brought it inside, and held it covered against his stomach for fear it would fly away. They called the animal hospital on the landline and were instructed to carefully clip the healthy wing to match the broken one.

 

A cage of gentle hands is still a cage,

    and I know this now.

 

I would have climbed in the jar if he’d asked me.

    I would have torn the other wing off myself.