Suppose that

, Selected Literature Network of Prose and Fiction

Suppose

Category: Poetry Added Time: January 13, 2011, 14:00:52 Source: admin Clicks: 32

If time could be rewound to before May 12, 2008,

If my father were still alive

If my mother were still alive

If my wife were still alive

If my son were still alive

If I were still the same as usual

In the evening, the whole family sitting around the dinner table

Watching TV while eating

The food cooked by my mother

How happy I would have been

But

I didn't realize happiness when I had it

Now that everything is gone, I yearn for the past

If my legs were still healthy

And I could go to work as usual

Even if my rival got promoted

And I was criticized by my boss

I would still smile

Unfortunately

I didn't smile when I should have

And I couldn't cry when I should have

If there wasn't care from society

If there wasn't support from all directions

If there weren't so many strangers coming to rescue

If the government didn't step in

If I were born in an older era

If I had encountered the Yellow River breach or the Huayuankou Incident in earlier years

How could I ever smile?

How could I still be here on earth?

If there hadn't been these disasters

If I were still intact

Every day I would walk briskly

Just to make money

Every day I would be busy

All for fame and profit

How would I miss the dinner table at home every night

And the joy of my family?

If there hadn't been these disasters

My heart would have been filled with thoughts only of myself

How could I have thought to be grateful to those unfamiliar faces?

If there hadn't been these disasters

Dear relatives and compatriots

I used to know only to be careful and cautious with unfamiliar faces

How could I have known you are my benefactors

You are my saviors

Our lips and flesh are interconnected

If there hadn't been these disasters

How could I not have realized I have a great country

I have kind compatriots

I have so much more valuable wealth than money

I have so much more meaningful property than self-interest

In the past

I had everything

Yet I never felt warmth

Today

My family is broken

My body is incomplete

But my heart has become tender

It's been stripped of its calluses