8月1日,父亲在与病魔搏斗了一年多以后驾鹤西去。我赶回家乡的时候没有见到父亲最后一面,抱着母亲痛哭了一场。母亲还摸着我的头安慰我。
等我回到加拿大过了些日子,有一天和母亲通电话,母亲终于忍不住放声大哭。她说父亲走的时候她不想影响千里迢迢赶回来的儿女们,所以忍住没哭。父亲和她生活了整整六十二年,走之前却没留下一句话。。。
在这里分享6月11日我在公共汽车上写下的一段文字,回忆父亲和母亲在一起的
往日时光
那日和母亲通话
母亲回忆起六十二年前的时光
那是个二十岁的新嫁娘
背着一包干粮
还有给爱人新做的衣裳
走过丘陵山岗
去爱人教书的地方
一百四十里的路用脚去丈量
出发时天才蒙蒙亮
抵达时已是星稀月朗
母亲本是个不识字的姑娘
在父亲教导下对读书写字如痴如狂
父亲时常夸母亲的字写得漂亮
那是母亲第一次远离家乡
父亲课余还带她去到湛江
一起参观了飞机场
在机翼下照了张相
……
多想回到母亲身旁
听她细述往日时光
附上老鲁的英文翻译,谢谢老鲁
@lordchankaop
Those were the days
The day I spoke with my mother, over the phone
she reminisced about those days 62 years ago
A 20 year old newlywed woman on her own
carried a bag of field rations
and a newly tailored set of clothes for her lover.
She laboured over mountains and valleys
to where her lover taught
75 kilometres, step by step
When she left, it was just getting bright
When she arrived there was no trace of light
Mother was an illiterate girl
under the tutelage of father, she was a fanatic learner
Father oft praised her handwriting
This was mother’s first time leaving her homeplace
After school, father would bring her to Zhanjiang
Together, they toured the airport and
under airplane wings they took a picture
Oh, how I long to return to my mother’s side
And, to listen to her once again, about her days as a bride