Five years ago, I taught Chinese at Notre Dame Prep, five classes a day, with a mission to educating and empowering girls to become women who can transform the world. In a beautiful sunny day in September, with gentle breeze, I took a lunch break and sat outside the classroom building. I was inspired to write a poem about my grandmother, my mother and I, three generations of the women born in China in the 20th century …
| 外婆 ?三寸金莲 ?一朝一代百年的痛 ?一双脚 囚禁家中 ?一颗颗扭曲的心 ?严严实实层层包裹 ?十趾十指连着心
?母亲 ?九号修长脚 踏上新旧交替大时代 ?一双脚 家里家外 ?一颗颗奋进的心 ?忙忙碌碌废寝忘食 十趾十指连着心 ? 和我 ?六号的脚 ?走过千山万水 ?踩着细沙和浪花 ?顶着阳光阴雨 ?满世界探索 ?泪眼朦胧痛彻心扉
?外婆 母亲 和 我 青山绿水微风细雨 ?她和她们 还有我们 如梦如痴般的女人 ?用她们的双手裁剪出 心底记忆里万千缩影 |
留给世界写满音符的足迹
Aria of Feet
Grandma
Three-inch golden lotus,
Unmeasured agony.
Tottering to the door.
Feet twisted by desires,
Wrapped tightly in layers.
Fingers and toes are connected to hearts
Mother
Mends a cloth shoe, size nine.
Handing a spoon to her son,
She follows Dad out of the house down the path to the machine shop.
Wrapped completely up in work,
Fingers and toes are reflections of her heart.
And I
Ordering Zara, size-six,
Phone full of photos -- streams and wooded hills.
Today we rush over hot sand into the waves.
Freckled skin smelling faintly of oil,
Exploring the world,
With salty tears and full hearts.
Grandma, mom, and I
Green water, blue mountains,
breeze and drizzle
She, them, and us
Dreamlike all the women
Cut out with their hands
Pruning thousands of miniatures
In the deep of their hearty memories
To the world
Leave footprints full of musical notes
