外婆

外婆

如果他們沒有逼你纏足裹腿，
如果他們沒有將你打入廚房，
你也許會成為中國的女皇。
你沒有到外麵去看世界，
你目不識丁卻大聲嚷嚷，
像被鎖在閣樓裏的瘋女人，
整天嘮嘮叨叨，
可他們聽見了嗎？

你是家裏真正的女皇。
你發號施令，
喂飽一家三代，
還有家禽牲畜。
好日子壞日子同樣過，
是是非非都擺平，
大災小禍你保全家無恙。

月光明亮的夜晚，
我們圍繞你身旁，
聽你講古老的故事，
代代相傳的夏侯家族
往日的輝煌。
難道我們是王公貴胄的後裔？

你十一歲嫁到樟山夏侯家。
是你青梅竹馬的小情郎，
撐小船送你過河
渡吉水到吉安
從此隔江相望？

你是最漂亮的新娘。
他們能見到的是
穿著繡花紅鞋的小腳尖。
三寸金蓮將女人丈量，
你因此小名錐子。
錐子婆婆的驕傲，
似錐子紮心疼痛難熬。

你生育了十幾個孩子，
隻有三個成長。
舅舅英年早逝，
你嚎啕痛哭，
天塌下來養老無靠。
可我媽媽和姨姨不算嗎？
不，養女不能送終，
不能接代傳宗。

你活了一個世紀長。
在最後的日子裏，
你回到故鄉。
不敢做孤魂漂泊異地，
進不了祖宗的祠堂。
落葉終歸根，
親愛的外婆，
願你天國永安祥。

You could have been the empress of China
if they had not had your feet bound
and confined your territory
to the kitchen.
You could not read or write
or travel to see the world,
Like the mad woman in the attic,
you kept nagging to have your voice heard.

You were the empress of the house
who commanded and fed husband, children, grandchildren
and all the domesticated animals,
through times good and bad.
You seemed to have an answer to every problem,
a remedy for all ailments.

Under a moonlit night
you told stories passed down from generations
to generations, the ancient glories of
the Xia Hou family.
Were we decedents of the second emperor?

You were married at the age of 11.
Was it your sweet heart
who sailed you across the river
to your new home?
You gave birth to 10 children.
You wailed when your only surviving son
died at the prime of his age.
What about your two daughters,
my mother and my aunt?
No, a daughter could not carry
the family name or
be with you at your death bed.

You lived a life a century long.
In your last days
They brought you back to your native village
so that you could enter the ancestral hall
would not become a wondering ghost
When it was time to go.
The leaves finally returned to their roots.