曾經在溪裡自在地游泳、打水漂兒
曾經在水溝裡戽魚、捉蝦
曾經冬天時跟在父親犁田的後面撿泥鰍、鱔魚、青蛙
曾經跪在水田裡搓草
曾經在烈日下汗流浹背地割稻
曾經在夏秋的夜晚追著提燈的螢火蟲奔跑、呼叫
曾經在家屋前埕聽大人講古、和童伴玩各種遊戲
曾經住在草房裡品嘗「冬冷夏熱」的滋味
曾經打赤腳健步在碎石子路上
曾經爬上芒果樹搖落黃熟的果實
曾經在牧場和童伴玩摔角、鬥蟋蟀和各種遊戲
曾經爬到樹上掏鳥窩
……那些曾經的曾經哪裡去了？
唉，它們都哪裡去了？
有人悄悄告訴我說
是被污染偷走了
是被農藥、除草劑偷走了
是被鋼筋水泥的現代建築偷走了
是被現代交通工具偷走了
我給歸結起來
原來都是被所謂現代文明偷走了
這樣的結果好嗎？
為什麼那麼五彩繽紛的日子都不見了？
為什麼那麼美好的寶藏都不見了？
它們都哪裡去了？
我好無奈
我好不甘
我好不平
Once and Where? Hsu ChiCheng
Once swimming in the river and playing ducks and drakes
Once catching fishes and shrimps in the creek
Once picking loaches and eels and frogs behind Father’s plough
Once kneading grass while kneeling down in the paddy field
Once cutting rice crops and sweating in the scorching sun
Once chasing fireflies with lanterns in nights of summer and autumn
Once listening to stories told by adults and playing games with other playmates
Once tasting the tastes of hot summer and cold winter in a thatched house
Once walking briskly on the road of gravels barefooted
Once shaking down ripe yellow fruits by climbing up to the mango tree
Once wrestling and cricket fighting and playing various games on the pasture
Once climbing up to the tree to get the birds’ nest
… Where has the once been?
Alas, where has the once been?
Somebody tells me quietly
It is stolen away by the pollution
It is stolen away by agricultural chemicals and weed-killers
It is stolen away by modern buildings of reinforced concrete
It is stolen away by modern forms of transportation
To sum it up
It is stolen away by the so-called modern civilization
Is such a thing ideal?
Why the colorful days are no more?
Why the treasures are not seen any longer?
Where are they now?
I feel helpless
I don’t feel not reconciled to it
I don’t feel pacified
(tr. Zhang Zhizhong)
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