Another beautiful poem by our favorite poet Yao Lu , returning at the home town. The poem is accompanied by an old drawing by her when she was a little girl.
故乡
故乡的符号
漂泊者脑海很少想起
可双脚一旦踏上那片熟悉的土地
便思绪万千
每一次离开，每一次归来
便体会一次近乡情怯
浪花里的一粒沙
无论你漂泊到何方
无论你扮演什么角色
一回到故乡
就想起第一次看见世界的情景
你变成最真实的自己
你是那个沿着老街肆意奔跑的孩童
你是坐落在老街尽头
那家服装店主人的初中同学
从他乡回到故乡
过去卖电瓶车的人现在在卖锂电车
邻居们是举家迁徙的雨燕
身影齐齐消失在巷口
一回到故乡
母亲还坐在古老的竹床之上
电风扇的叶子吱吱呀呀作响
她每隔不久就会喊你的名字
你还是那个闷声不吭的孩子
独自待在自己狭窄的卧室里
像一本书塞进拥挤的书架中
Hometown
A symbol of hometown
The wanderer rarely thinks about it
But once his feet stand on that familiar land
His mood becomes complicated
Every time he leaves, every time he returns
He experiences homesickness
A grain of sand in a wave
No matter where he drifts
No matter what role he plays
Once he comes back home
He remembers the first time he saw the world
He becomes his truest self
He is the child who runs along the old street
The clothing store are situated at the end of the old street
Its owner is his junior high school classmate
Return to hometown from another hometown
People who used to sell battery cars are now selling lithium trams
The neighbors are swifts to migrate with their families
Their figures disappeared into the alley.
Once he came back home
Mother sat on an old bamboo bed
The leaves of the electric fan creaked
She calls his name every few moments
He is still the muffled child
Alone in his narrow bedroom
It’s like a book crammed into a crowded bookshelf
Francesco Marincola 