Water Buffalo 水牛

水牛

我家水牛不是寵物
沒有名字
我有名字
無法變成水牛。

水牛不會仰望
只有低頭
水牛的足跡很深
印證沉重的生活。

我常遙望遠山
抬頭看著白雲
描繪生命的景象
夢想沒有水牛的未來。

我更行更遠
留下的腳印很淺
水牛背上的牧童
只能在夢中偶然相見。

水牛早被鐵牛取代
我的童年只剩噪音
牛車道被柏油覆蓋
我找不到回家的路途。

俯首是水牛的姿態
負重依然前行
我越過幾重遠山
望盡變幻的白雲
才知道 離家是繞遠路回家
才知道 水牛無名就是有名。

Water Buffalo

Our water buffalo wasn’t a pet
Therefore had no name;
I do have a name,
Yet long to change into a buffalo.

Our water buffalo knew not how to look up
And his head was always bowed
His feet prints were deep
Witnessing the weight of his heavy living.

I often looked at the hills far away
And lifted my head to the clouds
Trying to paint a picture of my life
Dreaming about my future without a water buffalo on my side.

I have traveled farther and farther away from my past
Leaving many shallow footprints behind
And meet the boy on the water buffalo’s back
Only in my dreams and pensive recollection.

Tractors have taken the place of my water buffalo
What’s left in my fading childhood is only noise
The trails of cow carts are paved over with cement
I doubt I can ever find my way back.

With head lowly bowed in his usual posture,
Heavy-laden, the water buffalo continues to travel;
I have climbed many hills
And look beyond many clouds still;
Finally I have come to realize:
Leaving home is taking a long journey back
And the namelessness of the water buffalo is his name.