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  • Song for My Mother
  • Jidi Majia

The Liangshan Mountains have many alpine lakes; in the past, many pairs of geesenested there. Each year when the geese migrated, the older geese sent the goslings off.The goslings werent willing to leave, and the adults struck them with their wings andflew back and forth to force the young ones to join the migration. When the flocksdeparted, crowds of people rushed over to watch the geese, and the women shed tears.

Just because there’s no snow up northJust because the farthest journeybegins hereWhen the cries of baby geese float this wayO Mother,I won’t dareopen my eyes

I can only silently look outinto the distance after a long time has passedThere are no gosling shadows in the skyThere are no gosling voices on the groundO Motheryou’re crying nowhugging me tightly,sobbing

Just because other towns have starsJust because women journeyfar away when they reach marrying ageI don’t know when the day will comebut when I ride a horse draped in red into the distanceI’ll look back and see that long ago the setting sun cut offthe path homeO MotherI see you thenstanding alone on that tall hillholding your face in your wrinkled hands—cryingO Motherit’s only todaythat I truly understandwhy you were so heartbroken beforeover the geese’s partingMother,my most beloved Mother [End Page 54]

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