〈Fairy Tales of the Windy City〉

 

[1] The Binding Stitch: The 17-Kilometer Coastline

Unfold the first page, a hardcover fairy tale picture book—

the 17-kilometer coastline, a green binding stitch.

On the left page, the azure sea beneath a gilded sunset,

several fishing boats cut through the waves,

each a dash.

Terns wheel above, commas in flight,

linking clauses across the sky.

 

On the right page, the windbreak forest:

its latticework bike paths meander like sheep intestines,

a favorite “connect-the-dots” puzzle for schoolchildren.

 

The tide rises, erasing the fiddler crabs’ doorplate numbers

(they never registered their households, nor paid taxes).

Pufferfish and octopus—temporary extras on stage—

have no time for makeup or costume

before the waves rush them onto the theater.

Dialogue omitted, they act in pantomime:

helplessly thrashing, flailing,

bubbles rising like muffled cries.

 

Sand piles become a fairy-tale castle,

mangrove twigs planted upright, streetlamps and roadside trees.

Sand crabs patrol like sentries,

while my footprints press solemn seals into the sand—

a copyright registration.

Yet the next wave

erases the story

with a careless stroke.

 

[2] Floral Waltz: Eighteen Peaks Mountain

After the spring awakening, insects and birds

stretch in the lullaby of crisp rain.

Sunlight licks the soft pink cheeks of flower buds.

The spring breeze gently lifts the hair of willows,

combing them into stylish chignons—

an impressionist touch.

 

Among branches, forest birds hop across

colorful piano keys, striking a lilting waltz.

Beetle gentlemen in bowties

escort flower ladies in gowns

onto the dance floor.

 

My bride, the spring goddess crowned with blossoms,

leads a wedding procession winding along mountain trails.

Trumpeting lilies blow their suona horns,

their piercing tones echoing through valleys.

Blooms exchange bees as engagement rings,

their voices weaving polyphonic choruses.

 

A regiment of roses marches,

their batons bright with rainbow-tailored tuxedos,

while mountain cherries line the path,

fairy wands sparking fire into the wind—

like that year, 1945,

when American bombs rained fire across the slopes.

That coloring book, filled with smoke and gunpowder,

still has not faded.

 

[3] Gourmet Jungle: At the Temple of the City God

Shop signs crowd the alleys:

a winding jungle of delicacies.

Oyster omelets, fried rice noodles, meatball soup

lie in ambush,

while the nerve endings of taste buds

thrill with anticipation.

 

The true temple of pilgrims is the stomach;

the City God, his face blackened by incense smoke,

sits upright in solemn duty,

naturally playing the stern role—

and still must understand every dialect,

north and south.

 

Grass jelly drink and aiyu jelly

share a lineage of cooling clarity.

When the summer heat nags like a wife’s scolding,

trust your lips and tongue to believe in them.

 

Fish soups, meat soups—

their plots tangled in boiling broth,

like heroes turned outlaws in chaos.

No one can unravel their past lives,

their every battle.

 

In this jungle, every pilgrim is

a reindeer without direction,

burning incense, making vows,

placing secrets on the City God’s altar.

(It is said the City God, long overworked,

never demands overtime pay.)

 

A lottery stick is drawn—

within rhymed riddles,

ambiguous metaphors hide.

One unearths flickering glimmers of meaning,

untangles wisdom as fine as hair.

 

And then returns

to the penned pasture,

dutifully eating grass,

sleeping,

raising children,

punching in, punching out.

 

Winner of the First Prize, Poetry Category,

2009 Zhúqiàn (Hsinchu) Literary Awards.

〈風城童話繪本〉 

【一】騎縫線：十七公里海岸 
攤開首頁，精裝的童話繪本     
十七公里海岸，一道綠色騎縫線   
左頁蔚藍的海面，燙金的夕陽下     
幾艘漁舟破浪前進，是破折號   
燕鷗盤旋，移動的逗點銜接上文語句 
右頁防風林，網狀自車道蜿蜒如羊腸   
是學童們喜愛的「連連看」題型    

海水漲潮，抹除招潮蟹們的門牌號碼 
（牠們從未辦理戶籍登記，也不繳稅） 
刺河豚和章魚這些跑龍套的臨時演員   
來不及上妝、穿好戲服 
就被浪頭匆促地請上表演舞台 
對白省略，以默劇形式演出 
無助地掙扎、擺動和冒著吶喊的氣泡 

把沙堆壘成一座童話城堡 
插上漂來的水筆仔成為街燈與路樹 
橫行的沙蟹是巡城的衛兵      
我的腳ㄚ在沙攤上慎重地蓋了印章 
完成著作權登記，但是大浪一來 
就把這故事，輕描淡寫地一筆勾銷了 
【二】花之華爾滋：十八尖山 
驚蟄過後，蟲鳥們在雨聲輕脆 
甜美的搖籃曲裡伸直懶腰        
陽光舔著花苞粉嫩嬌美的小臉      
春風輕柔地握著楊柳的髮絲      
梳理了幾個時尚的髮髻，很印象派的畫風 
枝頭間林鳥跳響著，彩色的琴鍵 
敲擊出悅耳的華爾滋舞曲 
打著領結的甲蟲紳士風度翩翩地扶著    
盛妝的花朵仕女的纖腰滑入舞池 

我的新娘，戴著花冠的春之女神       
迎娶的隊伍迤邐在山徑上     
前導的百合花熱烈地吹奏嗩吶   
高亢的音色山鳴谷應，盛開的花朵 
相互交換蜜蜂的訂婚戒指 
合唱出各式各樣的旋律、聲部和音色  
各色玫瑰的儀杖隊伍，打著色彩    
斑斕的蝴蝶結，穿著彩虹剪裁合身的燕尾服  
兩旁的山櫻手持仙女棒，火花隨風噴濺    
彷彿1945那年，美軍大轟炸過後    
漫山遍野燎散開來的鋒火      
那張滿佈硝煙的著色畫，至今仍未曾褪色   
【三】美食叢林：城隍廟口 
市招林立，這裡是迂迴曲折的美食叢林   
埋伏著蚵仔煎、炒米粉和貢丸湯 
味蕾上的末稍神經細胞躍躍欲試    
五臟廟才是遊客們最虔誠的信仰中心 
被香火燻成黑臉的城隍爺  
理所當然得正襟危坐，扮演大黑臉 
還得聽懂南腔北調的各種方言   

仙草露和愛玉凍，有著同樣通體清涼的身世   
如果暑氣如妻的嘮叨令你感覺躁鬱   
請試著以唇舌去信仰它們 
魚羹肉羹混在水深火熱的湯裡        
情節宛如英雄落草為寇，沒有人搞得清楚 
它們的前世今生和經歷過的每一場戰役  

在這座叢林裡，每個善男信女都是 
缺乏方向感的馴鹿，上香許願
把心事端上城隍爺的供桌 
（據說城隍爺案牘勞形慣了，且從不計較加班費） 
抽支籤詩，在押韻的謎語裡 
推敲一些模稜兩可的隱喻
發掘一些語意閃爍的靈光 
開解一些細如毫毛的般若 
然後回到圈養的牧場，本本分分地 
吃草、睡覺，生養兒女，上班打卡下班打卡                   

2009年竹塹文學獎新詩首獎