白玉苦瓜

      ——看台北故宫博物院的玉雕

什么苦都吃得

善烹饪的妻

却总把苦瓜我的旧爱

排在菜单之外

只好透过诗页

透过空间阻隔的玻璃

让这用时间的文火

徐徐煨成的佳肴

鲜美诱动舌尖

去裸泳

津津的记忆

VIEWING THE JADE BITTER GOURD

-- at the Palace Museum in Taipei

Despite their sweet aftertaste

my wife refuses to include bitter gourds

in her menu

Standing in front of the glass case

I watch my favorite delicacy

simmer in the slow flames of time

while the tip of my tongue

swims naked

in the saliva 

of memory