My Homeland

My homeland always seemed distant -
at the source of the rivers,
beyond the frontier,
beside a stranger.

My homeland always seemed distant -
on the peach blossom banks,
on the plains and on the northern tundras,
somewhere unexplored even in dream.

But, when the train door opened
and I saw my mother standing by the tracks -
when the wind lifted her white hair,
carrying on it the gesture she had just made
with her hand -

it was then I knew that my homeland
had never been far from me.

- Li Xiao-luo


我的故乡

一直以为我的故乡在远方
在那些大河的尽头
在关外
在陌生人的身旁

一直以为我的故乡在远方
在那桃花溪畔
在草原雪域，在北国
梦里还没去过的地方

可是，当火车开启
我看见妈妈站在铁轨旁
风把她的白发掀起
风把她刚刚放下去的手势
又掀了起来

我才知道，我的故乡
她从来就没去过远方

- 李小洛