Hotel Insomnia

by Charles Simic

I liked my little hole，

Its window facing a brick wall.

Next door there was a piano.

A few evenings a month

A crippled old man came to play

“My Blue Heaven.”

Mostly， though， it was quiet.

Each room with its spider in heavy overcoat，

Catching his fly with a web

Of cigarette smoke and revery.

So dark，

I could not see my face in the shaving mirror.

At 5 A.M. the sound of bare feet upstairs.

The “Gypsy” fortuneteller，

Whose storefront is on the corner，

Going to pee after a night of love.

Once， too， the sound of a child sobbing.

So near it was， I thought

For a moment， I was sobbing myself.

Charles Simic（查尔斯·西米克，1938—），美国著名诗人、散文家和翻译家，出生于南斯拉夫首都贝尔格莱德；童年成长于战乱的欧洲，这塑造了他大部分的世界观；1949年移居美国，曾于纽约大学学习；1959年开始发表诗作。他曾出版过20部诗集、6部散文集、1部回忆录和不计其数的翻译作品。本期推荐诗歌便选自诗集：《失眠旅馆》（1992）。西米克一生揽获众多奖项，其中包括美国普利策诗歌奖、华尔特·惠特曼诗歌奖以及加拿大格里芬诗歌奖等等在内的众多重要诗歌奖项，并于2000年被选为美国诗人学院顾问，现为美国新罕布什尔大学教授。