The Village I've Longed For

by 蓝月星雨

   I can visualize the peaceful village, the bamboo houses which stand on stiles surrounding by little hills full of green. Trees, bamboos, and unnamed flowers dance in the summer breeze.

      Birds, cranes and insects stalk in side the shades, slowly. Also, the little stream runs through the village makes busy sounds as if it is chanting. it reminds me the little village in the remote southern China where my grandfather lived.

      Every day, men and women start farming in the rice field with dawn and finish working at dusk. Live is smooth in a relaxing pace. It has been the same for generations. Live goes on and on and on. But it is meaningful in different eyes.

      A summer afternoon can be remarkable, while all the farmers enjoying the break, the sun spreading a gold layer on the top of the roofs, the smoke of the incense coming out in front of the shrine reaching out the top of the trees and the clouds hanging in the sky as if they have been there for decades, the mood is like an old song only can be heard from the distance.

     Men and nature, present and history, reality and imagination combine at the moment. That is, the memory of the village where my grandfather lives, and may be, the village that I have longed for.