Fan Jinghua: Childhood: There Was a Family

Childhood IV

　　There Was a Family
The two trees around her home were the tallest in our village,
And they could be seen from the school playground.
One of our games was to walk straight across the field toward them.
The huge pagoda tree was home to two nestles of magpies,
And its flowers were so tall that we could not reach even with a bamboo pole.
The tree provided them with vegetable and stuffing for steam buns.
There was also a chinaberry, littering so many
Bitter yellowish dates every year, which they would use to wash clothes.
Occasionally, communal co-op would buy in,
But most of the years there would be dates hanging high,
Conspicuous fruits, useless
Except for reminding us that winter was not stark bleak.
Then spring came, with burgeons fanning out so quick
That tiny purple flowers had to jostle their way for sunlight.
Then, the mother was dead, and the father could not properly speak.
Then, her elder sister surfaced the pond in a thick morning mist;
And her father went insane.
Before long, her brother was imprisoned for criminal revenge;
She was taken to be the wife for a moron.
On the year for his release, her brother was executed
Because a Sterner Punishment Movement was launched.
Then, her home was taken over by some wild dogs,
And we all tried to avoid the premise.

　　曾有一家人
她家有两棵树全村最高
我们从操场都能看到
那是的一个游戏就是放学后
朝她家的树走一条直线穿过田野翻过小沟
那颗槐树上面有两只很大的喜鹊窝
太高了，我们用竹竿也够不到那满树的花
每年那棵树为他们家提供蔬菜和包子馅料
还有一棵苦楝每年会落下很多楝枣子
黄灿灿的，腻腻的，他们会用来洗衣服
偶尔，供销社会收购
有很多枣子会挂在树梢，是冬天里最显眼的
果实，无用，但令人感到冬天并非一片光秃
直到春天长出鼓鼓的叶苞，然后
碎小的紫花挤到蜡纸般光亮的绿叶之外开放
她娘没了之后，她爸爸说话就不利索了
有一个雾气沉沉的早晨她姐姐飘出水面
接着她爸爸痴了
她哥哥被抓去劳改
后来她被一个傻子人家接走
该释放的那年，她哥哥被枪毙了
他刚好赶上了严打
后来她家的房子住了好几条野狗
人人都绕着走